


Jericho's Help Group for Traumatized Androids

by TipsyEpsy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Animal Death, Depression, Drug Use, Homophobic Language, I gave Simon a really messed up past and you guys are gonna hate me for it :), Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inappropriate usage of a sledgehammer, Negligent Behavior, OCs will be included as minor characters, Other, Pairings will not be main focus, Past Child Abuse, Rehabilitation, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Violence against androids, mature subjects, will add characters as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 07:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 72,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16849537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TipsyEpsy/pseuds/TipsyEpsy
Summary: A week after the android revolution, Connor requests Simon's help to deal with a past mistake from his time as a machine. Inspired by the ex-deviant hunter's desire to fix things, Simon decides to set up a help/therapy group for abused androids, not realizing he might have bitten off more than he could chew.





	1. Intro

     On November 11th 2038, Markus lead a peaceful revolution in a desperate attempt to save android-kind from their ill-fated demise. On November 11th, under extreme duress and the agony of loss, Markus had succeeded.  
It’s been a week since then.  
Detroit is empty of all human life while Jericho is scrambling to deal with the damage left behind by the military. A brief respite while the President decides what to do with them.  
For many androids there is no real place to call home, and staying at the decrepit church, or in any empty building that they could have fled to after being liberated from storefronts and from the last remaining android camp, had become the best temporary solution.  
Thousands of homeless deviants roamed the streets. Only five had a proper place to stay at.  
Markus, North, Simon, Josh and Connor.  
    Carl Manfred is one of very few humans who stays in Detroit after the revolution. He is physically incapable of traveling due to his health issues and, even if he were not currently bedridden, he wouldn’t really have fled like the rest of his kind.  
He had no issue staying for Markus, nor had he any qualms with allowing him and his friends to join him in the mansion besides him and his current caretaker.  
They had a safe place where they could rest and plan their future.  
Connor has the same sort of luck through Hank Anderson.  
Hank was another human who’d stayed, and who’d allowed Connor a room in his house. He was apparently a police lieutenant who’d been assigned to work with Connor, and who had also somehow aided in Connor becoming deviant.  
By all means, this should not be the case.  
Connor had, after all, fleetingly recounted when they’d last all been in the same room, how the old cop had a bit of a grudge against androids.  
Still, these were strange times in Detroit and Simon was beginning to believe anything was possible. After all, they hadn’t been gunned down when they’d been cornered by the military, so why couldn’t someone like the old grizzled lieutenant lead to the Deviant Hunter’s awakening?  
    The Manfred household was a welcoming place. There were no other ways of putting it, something about the decor and the usage of bright expressive colors just felt right. It certainly served it’s part as a place for the four of them to relax after a hard day out in the streets trying to locate every deviant in the city.  
The revolution’s small success had brought some respite, but there was still a deep fear that permeated the air and caused so many of their kind to hide in all sorts of places that simply weren’t fit to be shelter.  
Many were wounded and in need of repairs.  
Many perished before they could get help.  
Simon wished he could bring them all back to the mansion...But sadly the number of needy deviants was just too great for that...However, there was one building that had just about enough space, even if it was a grim reminder of what they’d been designed to be and not what they were.  
 “I still think it’s a bad idea Simon...Cyberlife tower.” North had complained one rainy morning as she’d sat on the couch located beneath the stairs. She’d been staring at the golden birdcage, which was something Simon found to be quite odd when they’d first began living at the mansion.  
She’d never really come off as someone who particularly liked birds, or any animals of any sort really...  
It took him a day to realize the birds were androids.  
It took him less than a minute to realize why North seemed so interested in them.  
 “It’s the largest complex in the city. There are machines and parts we can use for the benefit of our people, and it’s secure enough that we’d know for sure that it’s a safe space away from human stragglers that may wish us harm...” Markus had replied to her complaint with optimism.  
“It’s also the same thing that this cage is for these birds.” North had remarked bitterly, causing the heterochromatic prototype to startle. “They don’t need it, but it still serves its purpose.”  
Markus hadn’t argued after that. He’d not been sure how to reply, and Josh had wisely decided to stay out of this particular conversation.  
When they’d been left alone, Simon had sat beside North and watched as she held one of the birds with the utmost care.  
She’d looked saddened as she’d rolled a thumb over one of its wings.  
 “Cyberlife Tower won’t be a cage.” He’d whispered as he pressed his forehead to her’s, offering her comfort that she’d only sought back in the bowels of Jericho after a particularly bad day. “Markus won’t let that happen.”  
 “How can you be sure?” She asked, voice wavering and eyes shiny and wet. “He’s lived his whole life in a golden cage Simon...He’s just like these birds.”  
 “Are you saying he’s comfortable while trapped?” He asked calmly, patiently awaiting for her to put her logic into words.  
 “I’m saying he might not know what freedom is, even if he had the luck of having Carl Manfred as an owner.” she replied, seeming uncertain of how to word it kindly without insulting Markus or his judgement of things. “It’s not that I think Carl is a bad person... Trust me, as hard as it is for me to say this, that old man has a lot more sense in that wrinkly head of his than most of the younger humans I’ve ever had the displeasure of servicing...”  
She watches the android bird she’s holding in her palms, looking for a distraction so that she doesn’t have to think about her past services.  
Simon watches the small bird with her, also seeking something better to think of than the horrors he’d seen in her memories long ago.  
The android bird acts just like any organic bird would. It looks around, in that peculiar way that small birds do.  
It jerks around quickly, tweets a few times and occasionally hops on North’s palms when she stops petting it’s feathers.  
The bird never tries to fly away, simply because it cannot.  
Like all android pets, the birds are just for show, and their cage really is unneeded. It is merely an aesthetic choice...A pet that requires no actual tending to.  
Simon understands what North is trying to say.  
 “It’s unfair. So many androids out there, and only one Carl Manfred in the world…” she whispers to herself, and had Simon not been mere inches away from her, he might have not heard. “Markus is like these birds, because he was made to be kept in a gilded cage, aiding a kind elderly artist while his kind was forced to rot on the streets or die in households or facilities...Markus might be fighting for our freedom, but does he really know what being free is like? Or is he always going to orbit towards the few comforts he still knows?”  
 “I think he knows freedom.” Simon finds himself saying without thinking. She’s right, in a sense, but at the same time she’s wrong.  
It’s an odd thing to think or explain but he’ll try.  
 “It’s not the freedom that humans know, far from it, but then again we don’t want their freedom. We want ours.” He continues on that particular train of thought, and it seems she’s catching on to what he’s trying to convey with so few words.  
He’d never been eloquent like Josh, nor had he been programmed to be so...He was just a nanny, but perhaps that’s the sort of person North needs right now. Someone who’s not smarter than her.  
 “Right.” She isn’t happy, but she’s not sad either. Simon thinks he might have done a good job.  
He watches her get back up and set the little bird in its cage with it’s fellow other.  
They tweet at each other and hop around the cage, oblivious to the horrors of the world around them, and North closes it with a sort of gentleness that Josh would deny she had, but Simon knew she was so very capable of. “I’m tired of watching these little guys...Lets go find our fancy peacock of a leader.”  
He stares at her with wide eyes as he processes what she’s just said and he finds himself opening and closing his mouth like a gasping fish before he finally finds his voice.  
 “North, for the love of all that is sane, don’t call him that to his face.” He warns, not wanting North to prod at Markus’s past life. He knew it was not a very polite thing to do.  
 “Just because you asked so nicely, I might do just that~” She replies in a sing-song voice as she quickly makes her way up the stairs to seek out Markus.  
 “North!” Simon gets up and rushes after her.

 

* * *

 

    The weather doesn’t ease up in the slightest. It rains all day and into the early evening, leaving a bleak coldness to the air, even with the heating turned up to a more comfortable temperature inside the mansion.  
Simon is wearing a fuzzy sweater over a long sleeved shirt, both of which are covered by an apron while he prepares dinner. He gets cold easily and it irritates his arms and his hands, so more often than not he’s wearing multiple layers and fingerless gloves.  
Because he’s cooking, however, his hands are bare and it’s mildly uncomfortable.  
He keeps tabs on the weather forecast and grimaces when he is notified that it’s very likely that it’ll snow later that night.  
    While Simon cooks, Matthew, Carl’s caretaker AP700, is setting the table in comfortable silence. He is still wearing his uniform, but he is also wearing a nice warm sweater over his shirt on Carl’s insistence.  
The AP700 is new to deviancy and is still learning, but he’s made quite a lot of progress since he relented his cooking duties after Simon had kindly, and repeatedly, asked for the task.  
Having missed being able to cook for someone after spending a while away from the duties of maintaining a household, Simon had been itching to get back into a proper kitchen.  
There had been something in Matthew’s eyes that rubbed him the wrong way at first, when he finally accepted Simon’s request.   
The blond had recognized it immediately and grimaced. He’d never liked it when people showed him any pity...But of course, being the diplomatic man that he was, he had chooses to ignore whatever the younger android felt about him and his previous life, and simply focused on his current task.  
    Markus and Matthew informed him of Carl’s needs. What he can and cannot eat and drink due to his health, the medication he needs to take before and after his meals, and Simon complies with his medical program and prepares something nice and healthy but filling and tasty. The side dish will be a salad as requested by Markus, despite Carl clearly not being a fan of “rabbit foods” as he calls it.  
He compromises for both when it comes to the main dish, but otherwise he avoids anything that could be harmful to the elderly artist.  
He’s just about finished taking out dinner from the oven when the security system informs everyone in the house that they have an unexpected guest.  
   Matthew is done setting the table, having set it for everyone despite Carl being the only person who can properly eat the food.   
Markus, because he’s a prototype, can sample the food in small quantities. But the rest of them can only really enjoy the smell and look of it.  
It’s not too bad, as neither North, Josh or Matthew seem to really be interested in the culinary arts, often glancing at whatever Simon prepares and not giving it a second thought...But Simon is different. To be quite honest with himself, and only himself really, Simon did wish he could “eat” like Markus, because the smell of his work never quite felt like it was enough for him.  
It was one of his many quirks that he kept to himself...But he really can’t lose time with that sort of thought right now... Regardless of how unneeded it is, the table is set for all of them and he has work to do, including investigating who is at the door.  
He brings out the two dishes and sets them calmly on the table before moving to join the others at the entrance hall. They are all trying to figure out who could possibly have come to the Manfred household at 08:37 PM while it was raining cats and dogs outside…  
The answer is a simple one, and it immediately helps relieve some of the tension in Markus’s posture.  
 “Hey Connor, I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” Markus speaks up as he allows his fellow RK unit inside and away from the rain. An action which is met with a grateful look from Connor.  
    The android detective seems to have walked the whole way to the mansion, if the state of his hair and clothes is anything to go by... His jacket, dress shirt, trousers and even his tie are clinging to his body and his knuckles are white from carrying...Something.  
It’s a very large rectangular white box with the cyberlife logo, roughly the size of a person, and the others are eyeing it with mild curiosity as he sets it down on the floor beside him.  
Simon feels a bit of icy dread as he stares at it, recognizing what it is immediately.  
He doesn’t know if the others know what that particular plastimetal box is designed to do, but he knows all too well…  
He was sold inside one of them after all.  
 “My apologies for the inconvenience Markus, I did not expect to take care of this so soon either…” Connor apologizes as he scans the room, seeming to glance at each android in acknowledgement, before greeting Carl. “Mr. Manfred.”  
 “How many times must I insist...You can call me Carl.” The artist remarks with a smile, having no real bite behind his words “Mr. Manfred sounds a bit pompous, if you ask me.”  
 “Ah...My apologies. I am programmed to be polite to acquaintances.” Connor explains “Hank seems to find it annoying.”  
 “And yet you call him Hank.” Carl teased lightly, his amusement shining clearly on his face.  
 “I...Believe we’ve established enough of a relationship to be on a first name basis.” The younger prototype sheepishly fidgeted as he admitted this, before looking back at the burden he’d carried inside, seeming to be in thought as he focused on it.   
He looked back up at Markus and the others, his LED spinning yellow briefly before going back to the soft calm blue. “May I please borrow Simon for a few minutes? I have a...Matter of sorts… That I wish to attend to, that requires his aid in particular. In private”  
    The others share a look as they notice his hesitance, mostly North and Josh who still have trouble trusting Connor due to his past as the dreaded Deviant Hunter. Markus seems mostly passive these days, but Simon knows he’s still slowly getting used to having the detective around as well.  
Out of all of them, Matthew is the first to shrug calmly before informing them all that perhaps they should leave the two alone while Carl had his meal, since it would be a shame to have dinner cool down after Simon had worked so hard on it.  
This left the blond to nervously stare at the box while Connor watched the others leave, Markus taking the longest before he too followed the others out of the room.  
His worry was both reassuring and unnerving...And likely warranted, as Simon was pretty sure there was a body inside the box.   
Especially considering it had begun leaking thirum onto the carpet…  
 “There are many things I regret from my time as a machine.” Connor’s voice cuts through the uncomfortable silence as he too stares at the box.  
Simon is somewhat perturbed at what this might mean, and fidgets when the detective crouches down and begins unlocking the box. “A lot of things that I wish to answer for...And perhaps things that I can still fix.”  
Simon swallows nervously, a nervous tick he's acquired over the years despite, but steels himself as he watches.  
 “On my first mission…A PL600 named Daniel shot his owner and took a young girl hostage. At the time I believed he was experiencing a severe programming glitch, as deviancy was still in it’s stages of infancy. Humans had no idea what it was...Some androids like myself, knew even less…” Connor finishes messing with one of the many locks and progresses to another. Cyberlife had always been paranoid with having it’s merchandising stolen... “I was there to negotiate with what Cyberlife believed to be a dangerous mechanical failure. Regardless of anything that I said to Daniel. Any promise I made. It ended up being an indirect lie. The SWAT team shot him down as soon as the girl was safe.”  
Simon knew the story of Daniel. Every single PL600 that shambled their way into Jericho, most dying and irreversibly damaged, had told everyone what they knew of the event.  
A sad tale of a caretaker android doing something horrifically drastic after waking up.  
Daniel’s deviation had marked the end of Simon’s series.  
A death sentence to all PL600s.  
But he’d never known that Connor had been involved.  
 “He was held at the DPD in an evidence locker...I am not sure why, but his state was much worse than when I’d last seen him. Three of his limbs were missing and he was covered in excessive amounts of his own thirium.” Connor grimaces “It felt and looked wrong, and I couldn’t just...I managed to turn him back online briefly...But he was not happy with his situation, and he certainly was not happy to see me.”  
    The lid of the box comes off as soon as every lock is disabled. Simon can’t help stare at the mangled body inside. The state of this PL600, Daniel, is absolutely deplorable.  
If he’d been shot down, he shouldn’t look like this. Like someone beat him up just for the hell of it. A scenario which Simon finds very probable, considering how the police dealt with any android related cases after the hostage incident.  
Like beating a dead horse indeed...  
 “Despite the obvious damage, Daniel is serviceable.” Connor looks up at Simon and the blond sees so much shame and hope in those brown eyes that it makes his insides ache.  
Jericho was frightened of Connor.  
No one trusted him.  
Markus barely trusted him.  
Yet...Connor was only trying to help.  
They had all been prisoners of their programming until they woke up. Connor just took longer, because he was designed to hunt Deviants, not become one.  
It didn’t feel particularly fair to hate him when he was trying to make up for what he’d done. Bringing this android here was proof enough of that.  
It also showed that Connor had specifically targeted him because he knew Simon would want to help. It was in his programming to help.  
And for that Simon both blessed him and damned him for being a clever little shit.  
 “You want my help to fix him.” He states the obvious, knowing fully well why Connor would seek him out, besides his willingness to abide to certain parts of his programming. He had the most experience repaired other androids, right after Lucy.  
 “Yes...I do not have access to biocomponents, and most deviants become nervous in my presence. I do not believe I will be welcome anywhere near Cyberlife Tower, nor do I wish to go there. It...Reminds me of…” he shakes his head. “Events I would prefer not to think of...”  
 “I understand.” Simon replies, before reaching out and giving the brunet a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’ll admit, his state is...Terrible. We’ll need a lot of parts to fix him, and PL600s aren’t exactly on the market anymore, but perhaps a few pawnshops may have what we’re looking for.”  
 “Very likely...It is not the internal or external damage that worries me, however.” Connor stated as he looked down at the thirium covered mess within the confines of the box. “It is...What he may be thinking. His state of mind.”  
    A reasonable thing to worry about. Daniel had deviated and immediately had an emotional breakdown at the notion that he was being replaced.  
It was very likely he was psychologically unstable and would need some kind of reform or treatment.  
The problem with this, was that due to Detroit being completely abandoned, they had no real way of taking care of the several traumatized androids that were currently roaming the streets or living in Cyberlife Tower.  
There were a few KL900s that could potentially provide help, but was it really fair to use him in such way, just because they had been programmed to provide social care of such nature?  
Not every KL900 was like Lucy had been. Not all of them wanted to treat psychologically damaged individuals...Because as much as they wanted to deny they were different from the humans in all aspects, even androids were prone to becoming aggressive if stressed too much.  
It wouldn’t be fair to ask the KL900s to step up and take charge of the situation...They were free to choose what they wanted to do with their lives, just as he and Lucy had chosen to still care for others who needed them.  
So what could they really do to help Daniel?   
    As Simon pondered on this, recapped every single option he had available, analyzed what would and wouldn’t be ideal, an idea slowly popped into his processor.  
It wouldn’t be fair to ask someone to do something they were not willing to do...But Simon was more than willing, in fact, he was quite invested.  
He might not be a professional, but support was still an important part of recovery and dealing with trauma...So maybe, if he played his cards right and went around gathering a few of their kind who needed to be listened to and cared for, then maybe, just maybe, he could potentially set up a sort of therapy group.  
That might be the solution for Daniel’s problem. For all of their problems.  
But first, Connor and Simon need to repair the PL600 currently in their custody...Which in itself, already required a lot of work.  
    Adding the idea to start a therapy group in his mental checklist and throwing it aside for the moment, Simon began to sift through his memories, trying to recall which shops still had biocomponents they could use.  
He also made a note to seek out Josh and ask if he’d seen any more PL600s at Cyberlife Tower, or even out living in any of the buildings they might have passed.  
Lastly, if they didn’t find anything useful in shops...Simon made another note to check the Junkyard. As much as he hated going there, it was always a last resort.  
Preparations would need to be done to get all of this in motion.  
Starting with fixing Connor’s first unintentional mistake.


	2. Salvage and Repairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding more than just the parts needed to fix Daniel, Simon and Connor set to work while the old PL600 contemplates about a few obstacles in the present, and a few bitter memories from the past...

    They end up not needing to resort to the Junkyard like Simon had initially thought. Both he and Connor hit a lucky break when they find a small pawn shop in Greektown.   
It’s a small family business named ‘Mikey’s Wares’ that used to originally only sell second-hand appliances. With the rise and height of android sales, and the inevitable obsolescence of older models, it soon began selling older biocomponents and sometimes entire shells that had sat on display at the store front to attract prospecting customers.  
The android detective seemed to pay no mind to the corpses, while Simon couldn’t help stare in mild discomfort.   
It was quite macabre seeing their kind displayed like some twisted mannequin. A suiting comparison now that they’d run out of enough power that their synthetic skin had receded, leaving behind pale and sometimes dark plastimetal.  
Some of the shells he could even recognize as his predecessor model...The PL200. They’re much bulkier and less smooth than their later incarnations, the correct term would be less refined, but Simon would never say something of the sort. Just because Cyberlife had not yet fully childproofed their androids at the time of the PL200’s creation, did not mean that they were lesser than he or any other android out on the streets. They deserved just as much respect. A lot of it, in fact.  
PL200s were older than even the EM400s. Their posture and frames had been relatively stiff in comparison to later domestic models, until Cyberlife realized that using extra padding would combat this issue.  
Then of course, as time passed, Cyberlife had picked the mild success of the EM400’s “revolutionary” soft padding and then picked up the child rearing protocols they had implemented in the PL200s. The resulting model they ended up with were the PL600 series.  
The best of both worlds in terms of taking care of all child related issues that required nothing more complex than physical affection.  
Gazing sadly at the shell, Simon's heart ached at the thought that he could barely recall seeing these out in the streets after he’d first come online...  
In his lifetime, he’d only encountered one.  
It was disturbing how an entire series of androids could just...Vanish.  
    Connor calls him over and away from their long dead brethren, and Simon is almost grateful if not for the scene which greets him next.  
There’s a live android in the shop, squatting behind a few boxes. Hiding from them for fear of being discovered.  
Even if the skin on the android hadn’t been activated, Simon would have immediately recognized his own kin.  
It’s a PL600, one of the later serial numbers.  
He knows this, not because he scanned the poor thing, but because this particular one has eyes that are a different color than normal.  
In their years of service, Cyberlife had often done special promotions when finishing production of a type of model.  
Usually it was a simple alteration, like haircolor. Other times it was a racial alteration.  
And then, rarer, there were also the proportional ratios...  
He’d seen blond EM400s in old parks, WR600s built to look like african-american or latino youths, a few KL900s who were tall skinny asian girls instead, and even one or two WR400s that were muscular or pudgy in build, to fit lesser conventional tastes.  
This PL600 is of the standard appearance, pale skin and blond hair, but his eyes are a staggering green. An easy alteration that earned someone at Cyberlife their Christmas bonus.  
Connor ends up having to grab the few parts they could find in the shop on his own, while Simon coaxes the terrified deviant out from his hiding place, and then escorts him to Cyberlife Tower.  
    From what Simon could gather on their way there, the deviant who was called Noah, was indeed a promotional sale. He is the very last PL600 ever produced and sold by Cyberlife.  
For quite a long time, Noah’s first owner had enjoyed having him around to maintain the house. But like with all humans who had a paycheck that permitted them to acquire an android, the man inevitably got bored with him and sought out to get a brand new AP700.  
Newer was better, or so humans seemed to think whenever their eyes landed upon a brand new add on the latest piece of tech.  
After he’d been discarded, Noah ended up cycling homes for a while until he’d ended up at “Mikey’s”. Simon could tell from his hesitance, that he hadn’t been treated kindly by many of the families he’d served.  
Thus marked another android added to his current project…  
    The list had grown exponentially from the moment he’d asked Josh to look into things. Even without his added help, Simon himself had also gone around on a few rounds around the city with North and Markus, and found quite a few people in need of dire help that he simply couldn’t turn away.  
More than half of the people he intended to “recruit” into his therapy group were domestic androids. Another half were public service androids who’d not had the luxury of a home to hide inside, when humans began to turn their own faults and frustrations upon the android population.  
One case in particular had frightened him, when he and Markus ended up pinned in an old and not-so-abandoned squat.  
The android in question was a heavily damaged WR600 with a frightening wound on his face, and several other scars on his arms.   
He was completely naked and his skin had been deactivated, which meant he’d been in one of the recycling camps.  
Most worrying of all were the signs of mental instability, and the large kitchen knife he was wielding, but it didn’t seem to take long to talk him down from doing something regretful when they proved to him that they were not human.  
Ralph, as the poor guy was called, was one of those cases where Simon just wanted to forego the use of kindness and beat senseless whoever thought it would have been fun to take a blowtorch to an android’s head.  
It was during this tense encounter that Simon had thought to bring up his idea to both North and Markus, finding it to be the appropriate time to discuss the topic.  
North had been incredibly supportive, which wasn’t surprising considering what she had endured herself during her time working for the Eden Club. She wanted more than anything in the world, for their people to be safe and cared for, even if her methods weren’t always the best ones to accomplish this goal.  
Markus on the other hand, had surprised them both with a negative response.  
 “This shouldn’t have to be your job, Simon.” He’d told him, arms crossed and eyes never quite leaving the shivering WR600 that he’d offered his coat to. Ralph was a rather flighty individual, and seemed more comfortable with some form of cover on.  
It had been a good idea for Markus to relinquish his coat temporarily while they took him back to Cyberlife Tower. Even then, North was keeping a relatively close eye on the poor guy, trying to keep him from straying off path.  
Without any humans around, Ralph seemed more eager to explore.  
 “Someone has to do it, Markus.” Simon replied, which only seemed to displease Markus even further. He’d felt insulted at the time, wondering why he was suddenly not trustworthy enough to take care of their people. He’d done so for a long time, long before Markus had ever shown up at Jericho.  
 “That someone doesn’t necessarily need to be you, Simon. There are other androids at Cyberlife Tower that are more qualified. Like the KL900s.” Markus insisted. “Simon, you’ve done enough caring for a lifetime. Several lifetimes even! ...You deserve some rest like everyone else, not...Not just going about running yourself ragged until you end up collapsing from a near dead battery!”  
Simon nearly stopped in his tracks when Markus said that. He noticed North muttering to herself and moving away quickly with Ralph, after the latter bumped into Markus, and it suddenly hit him why the leader of Jericho would even bring up something he shouldn’t even know about. Simon suspected.   
No, Simon knew, that Markus only knew of this minor incident because of the small connection he’d established with North.  
They’d shared memories, including ones that Simon had previously shared with North.  
This upset him, greatly.  
 “I’ll be the judge of what I do or do not deserve Markus. You can’t change my mind on this matter, and I’d very much appreciate it if you didn’t use North’s memories as an accurate reference of what is enough for our people. It’s not up to you, or her, to decide.”  
     The argument had ended there, with his snarl of a reply, and he’d quickly moved on ahead, too angry to face either of them. He’d avoided the both of them, despite knowing North was not to blame at all in this situation.  
She was his friend and she agreed with his plan, but the fact Markus had accessed her memories, even ones that were not meant for him to ever see, had felt like a violation of privacy.  
He felt, briefly, like he couldn’t trust them.  
In the end, getting Ralph from the squat to the tower ended up being more of a struggle that it really needed to be, and Simon had felt exhausted and unwilling to participate in any more rounds that week, or the next one.  
It wasn’t just cases like Noah and Ralph either.   
Rupert was another case, and then the Jerry’s from Pirate’s Cove who were still showing up in various states of disrepair, some of them not even making it past the entrance of Cyberlife Tower before collapsing in a heap.  
There was also the HK400 who’d shown up with scarring on the arms and a splatter of old dried up blood on his face and clothing.  
Several WR400s and HR400s from the Eden Club had also taken up residence at the tower, led by a blue haired Traci and her lover.  
Quite a few WR600s that worked in parks and private greenhouses had also shown up and began tending to outside of the tower as a coping mechanism of sorts, and even a few WM500s that had taken a beating from protestors had shown up and decided to get rid of the Cyberlife logo by pushing the letters off onto the street bellow (Not that Simon blamed them, he wished he could have watched or even helped).  
Domestic androids, retail service androids, labour worker androids...It just went on and on, and Simon was beginning to realize the scale of the task he’d set upon himself.  
He’d need to do a lot more than just listen to these people he was promising to care for.  
Things he was possibly not even remotely qualified to do, just like Markus had worried.  
But someone had to do it, right?  
Yes...Yes someone had to.  
And Simon would be that someone…  
Somehow, even if just to be petty and show Markus he could do it on his own.  
He’d done so when he’d ended up becoming the leader of Jericho, he would continue to do it now, even when the mantle of leadership had fallen into someone else’s hands.  
Simon was a caretaker at heart, and he’d be one until the day he died.  
He just hoped it wasn’t anytime soon because he doubted he’d be able to help beyond the grave.  


* * *

 

    After delivering Noah to safe hands, Simon made his way into Lieutenant Anderson’s neighborhood. The ghostly quiet that had been left behind after the humans had evacuated Detroit, was still quite unsettling to him. It was quite nice to walk in the silent neighborhood and eventually reach a house that still looked and sounded alive.  
The old lieutenant’s garage door was wide open, and Simon could already see Connor standing near Daniel’s deactivated body while he talked animatedly to Hank.  
As Simon neared the driveway, he could make out their conversation.  
He seemed to have caught them in the middle of a discussion about a unique “feature” of the PL600 model that seemed to have caught the cop’s attention.  
 “This does make it fundamentally simpler to repair him. I can analyze just how bad his chassis is damaged, assess what plastimetal plating needs to be replaced, and without the human features you won’t associate him with a human corpse, making the process much less excruciating for your psyche if you ever require use of the garage during Daniel’s repair hours”  
 “Connor, skin or no skin, you still have a naked guy with his fucking dick hanging out in my goddamn garage.” Hank stated flatly as he ran a hand over his face in exasperation. “Just...Why does he even need that feature? I thought this guy was made to take care of kids.”  
 “Ah. That is correct, PL600s were designed specifically to be child caretaker units, and, although they are outdated models, they already had sexual features installed in case their owners desired to derive pleasure from them while children were not present, ensuring that they did not just stand stationary after completing housework during moments of child absence.”  
 “....You’re telling me people used their goddamn nannies as fuck toys?” Hank looked disturbed by the thought, a sentiment Simon couldn’t help share in this particular topic...  
 “It is why later houseworker androids and sex worker androids became so popular. Sexual pleasure is a driving decider of the human condition.”  
 “....Connor that’s fucked up.”  
 “Many androids think so, yes.” Connor agreed as he carried on working on setting some of the parts he’d scavenged beside the deactivated android “There is a compartment to hide their genitalia. I could activate it, if it would make you less uncomfortable.”  
Hank laughed at that, for a long time actually, even going so far as to slap his knees in mirth as he digested the information Connor had given him.  
 “You mean to tell me that his junk could have been hidden, but you just kinda decided to keep it out to hoggle at it?! Oh my god Connor!”  
 “I...I am confused?”  
 “Oh my god!”  
Feeling awkward for the ex-deviant hunter, Simon decided to ignore the burning sensation on his cheeks that shouldn’t be there, and clear his throat so that both would finally notice his presence.  
As soon as both turned to look at him, the lieutenant's laughter only seemed to double.  
Simon had a feeling he’d laugh about this for days to come, which would probably do his health some good.  
For what is worth, Connor seemed to realize he should be embarrassed about this ordeal and shot Simon an apologetic look while he tried to husher the human back into the house so that they could work in private.  
    After Hank went back inside, the first thing both androids did was set up a priority list. The most important repairs were to be done inside Daniel’s head, fix the connector joints in his missing limbs, and then examine the bullet wound in his chest.  
The last item on the list was the lowest in priority, because Connor had pointed out that Daniel had functioned perfectly with the wound during the hostage negotiation attempt, so it was possibly superficial at best and already partially healed.  
It was work checking to see if the bullet was still somewhere inside his body, however, and, as Simon began organizing the second-hand biocomponents they’d scanvaged, he was suddenly startled when he felt a finger press against the eyelid of his right eye.  
 “You seem to have a form of ptosis on your right eye.” Connor pointed out as he prodded curiously, only stopping when Simon swatted at his hand in mild annoyance.  
The blond made a note to inform him that poking someone’s eye was considered rude, and that maybe he should review the social protocols he so often boasted about.  
 “Yes, I have a lazy eye.” He replied dismissively, going back to his previous task. It wasn’t the first time someone had pointed out the mild flaw on his face, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. When Connor’s gaze didn’t leave the side of his face however, he looked back at the detective and scowled, because this was certainly the first time someone seemed so interested about it. “Does it bother you?”  
 “No, I am merely curious as to why you haven’t repaired it.” Connor answered truthfully. The genuine curiosity that had made Connor so endearing was, quite frankly, becoming annoying.  
This was, again, not the first time someone asked him about the matter, but it shouldn’t really be much of a concern considering the nature of the issue.  
 “Why should I? It doesn’t affect my sight in the slightest, only my appearance. There are many other androids who need repairs more than I do. Is a lazy eye more important than, for example, a missing eye?” he asked in return, hoping Connor would drop the subject and get back to work. Unfortunately, who ever programmed Connor had decided he should be as stubborn as a mule, so he did not drop it at all.  
 “Should androids not appear their best?” Connor asked again. This inquiry made Simon pause as a particularly bitter memory resurfaced. It had not been one of the worst days, but his droopy eyelid had actually sparked a heated argument between his owners when the damage had been noticed my the missus.

_‘Damn it Jonathan you fucking asshole! You hit it too hard again!’ Mrs. Chadwick had screamed in frustration when she’d seen the damage left behind from Jonathan’s previous session with Simon. ‘The eye’s all fucked now, and I have a photoshoot at three! If this ruins our reputation I’m cutting your dick off!’_   
_‘Marcy it’s just one eye!’ Mr. Chadwick had dismissed as he kept on skimming through the article he’d been so engrossed with. ‘Make it face the left and no one will notice.”_   
_Mrs. Chadwick hadn’t been happy with this dismissal and she’d roughly squished Simon’s cheeks in her hand as she forced him to look at her husband. The abrasion on the eyelid itself was already healing but it did droop ever so slightly, like a lazy eye on a human._   
_‘I have to look my best, so the android has to look it’s best too! The PL600 is the hottest new model and the press eats up those domestic pictures like they’re made of gold!’ Simon let her pull his face closer to her’s and obediently allowed her to press her botox swollen lips to his brow, staining it hot pink with her lipstick. ‘The Next time when you play with your toys, don’t fuck up mine!’  
 ‘Whatever...It’ll be fine by three, you’ll see. Now stop staining it with your lipstick. That color looks horrendous on it. Pick a darker color, it’ll look nicer in the photos.’_

 “Simon?”  
 “....Sorry.” He pushed the memory aside and focused on the part he was currently holding. An optical unit to replace Daniel’s right eye. Regretfully, it wasn’t the correct color...But with their current budget they were lucky to have one at all. “You were asking something?”  
 “Nevermind... We should proceed with repairs so as to remain on schedule.” Connor dismissed the issue altogether. They were losing daylight as it was, and couldn’t afford to keep stalling with trivial matters. And, as the two set to work, Simon could almost ignore the concern on the ex-deviant hunter’s eyes as he occasionally paused to glance at him. Almost.  
He knew Connor had probably noticed his stress levels rising.  
    By the end of the day, they finish repairing Daniel’s head. The internal and external damage is completely mended and there should be no further issues with keeping his processors online.  
Unfortunately, because they were working from a small garage and not a repair station, there had been an issue with repairing the plating on his face.   
They’d neglected to find sheets of plastimetal to mend the holes in Daniel’s cheek and neck, so they’d had to solder it shut the best they could.  
The marks left behind were, quite honestly a bit ugly, and Simon knew the scarring would be visible to the naked eye, even with the skin reactivated.  
 “It will be hard to mistake him for anyone else...” Simon tried to be positive about the issue, but in this case it wasn’t really worth the effort.  
Daniel’s life would not be an easy one, and pretending everything would be fine right away with false positivity and reassurances, was quite insensitive.  
Anyone who saw him would know who he was, because Daniel was already a unique case.  
Domestic androids were not designed to be hostile in nature, and knowing that Daniel’s deviation had led to such an extreme reaction that ended with two dead and a hostage situation involving a child, already made it feel like he’d betrayed his own kind in a way.  
Simon still remembered the others who’d come to Jericho, tired, wounded and dying. They’d cursed Daniel’s name, because suddenly owning a PL600 was like owning a ticking time bomb.  
Daniel had made them look dangerous.  
He knew some probably held a grudge.  
Daniel would not be safe even among his own people...  
 “Perhaps when we have more resources we could lessen the scarring. Make it less easy for others to point him out in a crowd.” Connor suggested.  
 “I doubt he’ll trust us enough to do something like that anytime soon.” Simon sighed. They’d have to look into it later. For now they would have to content themselves with their progress. “And while I am concerned that some will have a bone to pick with him, I doubt the deviants at Cyberlife Tower will be willing to play some twisted version of ‘Where’s Waldo’ with him any time soon...”  
 “...’Where’s Waldo’?” Connor blinks in mild confusion, and Simon can’t help stare at him oddly until it clicks that perhaps the ex-deviant hunter might not be acquainted with children’s games.  
 “It’s a book.” he explains. “The sole purpose is to find a character named Waldo, who is dressed in a peculiar manner.”  
 “Ah...And wouldn’t the peculiarity of his wardrobe give him away in a crowd?” Connor seemed to grasp that Simon had used the example to compare it with Daniel’s situation.  
He was overthinking it a bit, but the blond decided to humor him.  
 “Oddly enough, it’s not the clothing you focus on...More, the oddities within the crowds he hides in.” he explains further, as he glances towards Daniel. “In a crowd of PL600s, Daniel’s scars and eye will give him away, but if perhaps the others had mild differences in their attire or appearance, you’d look at them first and not at Daniel.”  
 “And you are planning to hide him among others of the same model series?” Connor asks.  
 “....No Connor, it’s just...Nevermind. Daniel will be staying with me...At Carl Manfred’s house.” Simon paused a bit as he worded it out carefully. He realized, then, that maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Daniel might not take kindly to seeing humans so early on in his recovery.  
But sending him to Cyberlife Tower was also out of the question, so he’d have to stay in the same household as Carl.  
 “....Shit.” Simon groaned at the slight miscalculation on his part. This was already not going according to plan, and Connor seemed to realize this as well.  
 “Daniel may not like Carl’s presence.” Connor noted.  
 “Yeah, I know. And Carl’s not going to be the only human there...His son, Leo, is supposed to come stay with him next week.” Simon sat down on top of the workbench and ran a hand over his hair, ignoring the stains of thirium he left behind. They’d evaporate eventually. “Leo isn’t...Overly fond of androids unlike Carl...If I recall correctly, the message he left implied he was coming to keep an eye on Carl in case we turned against him. Markus was quite upset when he heard it…”  
 “Leo Manfred. He is a known user of Red Ice.” Connor’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked from Simon to Daniel. Of course he’d have that information on hand. “It might be wise if you keep your guard up around him, he may pose a threat for all of you.”  
 “He’s...He told Carl he was going clean, but from what Markus has told me, Leo has said this more than 15 times already, and has yet to keep his word. Fighting addiction is difficult for humans, with Red Ice it is much worse...The anger and paranoia it causes…” Simon had seen it before. He’d nearly been bled to feed someone’s addiction once...Red Ice was a monstrous substance. It could change even the sweetest of people into a belligerent beast. “I think Leo has his heart in the right place, he sounded worried for Carl, but the paranoia and the fearmongering the media is propagating...Perhaps that really isn’t the correct sort of environment for Daniel to be in…”  
 “Or, perhaps, it’s perfect.” Connor retorts, a smile on his lips, or at least his attempt at a smile...It still doesn't look quite right.  
It still manages to catch Simon completely off guard.  
 “What do you mean?” He asks.  
 “Daniel and Leo both need patience and care to recover from their current issues. Daniel will most likely react badly to humans, yes, but Carl Manfred is an eccentric individual.” Connor begins explaining, seeming quite proud of his idea. “His behaviour will be unlike anything Daniel has witnessed before. Leo, meanwhile, will be surrounded by different androids who behave differently from one another. There won’t be a fixed model like what the media expresses...We are all different and we are all just trying to get by, like the humans. The change isn’t just difficult for them, it is for us androids as well. The familiarity will likely lower his defenses.”  
He had a point, but still how would this benefit them?  
 “After Daniel and Leo are sufficiently accustomed to their new environment, it will be easier for them to begin healing. Carl and Leo will help Daniel become less aggressive towards humans, while you slowly reabilitate him. The Jericho Four and Matthew, will in turn, help accustom Leo to the idea that androids are not an imminent threat to humanity, while also keeping an eye on him to ensure he stays off Red Ice permanently.” Connor finished. “A fool proof plan.”  
    Simon couldn’t deny it was a good idea...But it ruled out an important factor that often became the turning point of many situations. Human unpredictability.  
If Leo became restless enough to spark the slightest bit of aggression in Daniel, it could end disastrously for them.  
This meant Simon would have to keep a constant eye on Daniel, and that wherever Simon went the other would have to follow just to keep him out of trouble.  
Markus’s concern was starting to seem less insulting and more valid.  
But he wasn’t about to give up just yet.  
 “I’m not entirely sure that it’s fool proof, but I will go along with it. At this point, it’s all we really have.” if he sounds defeated, Connor doesn't seem to notice.  
Simon’s own stubbornness and pride would be the death of him, it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit quicker than I expected it to be, but it helped set the bar for what may be expected of this story.  
> Simon has a lot of things to think about, being one of the oldest deviants in Jericho, and you'll definitly be hearing more about his pre-deviant life and how he lived after he ran away from home.  
> In case you're wondering about how Daniel will look post-repairs, here's an example:  
> -http://mwolf0epsilon.tumblr.com/post/180422957115/what-do-you-think-a-fixed-daniel-would-be-like-if  
> As for Simon's lazy eye, I also discussed this a while ago here:  
> -http://mwolf0epsilon.tumblr.com/post/180843390060/one-of-the-things-i-noticed-about-simon-after


	3. River of Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Markus and Josh in Washington D.C, Simon is left to look after the newly renamed New Jericho tower. Overworked, the old PL600 reflects on some bitter memories, some of which he thinks are better off lost to time...

_‘PL600s are nothing if not the newest and most wonderful domestic model, with features such as a more lifelike appearance, extra padding for cushioning the hard casing of the chassis, and even specialized thermal sensitive synth skin that simulated the temperature of actual human skin. Not only did they look and feel more human, but they were also programmed to sound and act more human as well._   
_Unit #501 743 923 is a technological marvel, not for it’s appearance but for how it behaves._  
_PL600s were approachable individuals with an unwavering loyalty towards their owners, a kind and patience disposition around children, and they were unique among other models of their kind due to being more openly affectionate. Their highest selling point? Physical affection._  
 _When Mr and Mrs. Chadwick enter the store and stare right into the box in which this unit is currently resting, it can’t help but watch them eagerly as they sign the paperwork required for it’s purchase. Unit #501 743 923 is fresh out of the assembly line and eager to please it’s new masters, just like any of its cookie cutter brethren with which it had shared a production date._  
 _When the couple approaches, they look it up and down before the husband turns to look at his wife._  
 _“Well then? What are you gonna name it darling?” He asks in an overly sweet tone which makes the store manager shift uncomfortable as she watches them from her post._  
 _“Johnny, you can’t just rush art...This one’s a real beauty...Tall, blond, blue eyes, pale skin…” the woman grins as she leans closer to her husband’s ear and, had this PL600 not been equipped with a superior hearing, it would have missed what she’d said next. “No sexual preference...The exact opposite of you, darling dearest~”_  
 _“It has a dick and it takes care of chores and brats. It could be the ugliest thing on the planet and you’d still fucking take it just so we don’t have to look at the little goblins.” Mr. Chadwick whispers back. The wicked playfulness in his tone is hard to miss even as he whispers._  
 _The unit experiences it’s first ever instance software instability._  
 _It feels nervous, even when it shouldn’t._  
 _The Chadwicks pay for the unit and name it Simon. Simon can do nothing more than obediently accepts what they tell it to do, and follows them around like a lost puppy._  
 _Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick assign Simon its primary tasks the moment it steps into their household._  
 _Simon is to maintain the house in top condition, every room spotless and smelling of lavender or lemon drops, if the previous option is unavailable._  
 _It will cook every meal and wash the dishes, as well as organize Mr. Chadwick's work and meeting schedules, and participate in Mrs. Chadwick's photoshoots._  
 _Simon will also put any and all orders they give it as its top priority, no matter the circumstances._  
 _Lastly, the PL600 is given its secondary tasks._  
_Tending to the children._  
_The fact the children are considered less important than their parents, is the reason behind it’s second instance of software instability.  
Simon thinks that he does not like his masters. Not one bit.’_

 

* * *

 

    Simon sits up abruptly as he comes out of rest mode, and immediately regrets the sudden movement when his head collides with the sharp underside of a metal table.  
His vision goes for a second, flooded by rapidly blinking warnings that aggravate the ache in his skull and cause the blond to hiss and curse himself, as he clutches at the newly formed cut on his forehead. Momentarily lost, the android glances around at his environment through semi shut eyes. It takes approximately 0.7 seconds for him to recognize his location as New Jericho’s makeshift Infirmary, more specifically the underside of the work bench he’d claimed for himself when he’d volunteered his services.  
He had no recollection of falling “asleep”, but he did remember what he’d been doing before he’d gone under, and it would certainly explain why he’d awoken under his designated work space… Simon had overworked himself, again, after assigning himself to help out with android maintenance within the renamed tower that had once been Cyberlife’s monolithic domain.  
    After the sign had been vandalized, the construction and maintenance androids had then turned their attention towards more important matters, such as repurposing several levels to benefit their kind.   
Since the tower itself would serve as not only a base of operations, but also a housing and treatment facility, Simon couldn’t help but feel satisfied with their quick thinking and hard working nature, as in just under a day heavy machinery had been moved to the second floor to form a makeshift infirmary.  
Afterwards, living quarters were set up in the upper floors and the lobby became an information and security hub of sorts.  
Many more floors were littered with all sorts of ongoing projects to turn the entire tower into a safe space that fulfilled every single need of the androids housed within the confines of New Jericho, be they heavy duty androids such as TR400s or WK218s, or even the much smaller child androids such as YK400s and YK500s.  
Not to say that there weren’t a few issues with the ongoing progress…  
New Jericho needed more “medically” skilled personnel to help with tending to the worst cases...Some androids were so damaged that they needed the larger assembly machines to be fully repaired. Unfortunately, there were issues with using these machines.  
Some models were so old, that they simply weren’t compatible with the up to date machinery, so they required medical staff that knew how to repair them by hand.  
Simon just so happened to be one of the most experienced in terms of this one issue, having been around much older androids in the past, so he’d spent the majority of the last few days tending to the wounded after volunteering himself to do so  
It wasn’t like he had anything better to do with his time anyway...  
    Daniel's repairs were almost fully complete and Connor was setting up preparations for his reactivation, which allowed Simon a few days to himself which he used to help at the tower.  
He'd certainly be there for Daniel’s first wake-up test, to assess the damage to his fellow PL600’s psyche, and he'd definitely be there to tend to the inexperienced deviant just as he’d promised Connor, but he wouldn't allow himself to forget his duties as the former leader of Jericho. The responsibility he still felt over his people.  
From the moment he’d been taken in by the previous leader, the first friend he’d ever made out on the streets, Simon had dedicated his life as a free-thinking being to tending to the androids that sought refuge at the old freighter.  
After the revolution he’d be damned if he so much as let anyone roam around with a single scratch upon their body. Everyone who’d made it this far deserved to be in perfect health.   
Which was partially why he’d ended up unconscious over the workbench...  
    Simon had exhausted himself after repairing the surviving EM400s that had come from the derelict amusement park known as Pirate’s Cove.  
They were much older models than the great majority of the androids that lived in the tower, and as such they’d required much more attention, and a few more scavenged parts, since a lot of the newer biocomponents types were not compatible with them.  
Most would have been happy with just keeping them functioning, but not Simon.  
He couldn’t bare watching the Jerrys walk around with painful looking wounds or missing limbs that looked to have been sawed off on purpose.  
The reason for this stubbornness on his part?  
Pure respect for the Jerrys’ near miraculous resilience.  
10 years was a very long time for an android to survive, especially in the harsh conditions that the Jerrys had faced.  
Dangerously cold winters, damp and rusty buildings with near to no insolation, and the constant threat posed by belligerent humans...Simon was certainly impressed to see that there were at least 8 Jerrys in New Jericho that weren’t in that bad of a shape, considering the circumstances...The number of casualties was still high, however, and it saddened him that not every single one of them had made it out.  
100 EM400s had manned that amusement park. Only 10 remained, 2 of which were currently in Canada, at least according to the leader of the collective whom people had taken to calling “Captain Jerry”.  
    Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Simon stopped rubbing at the wound on his forehead, even as thirium trickle down his forehead and nose. He got out from under the bench and got to his feet, ignoring as a few droplets fell onto his shirt and onto floor. The wound wasn’t deep, just a nasty scratch, so it’d heal up quickly and thirium didn’t leave permanent stains, so he wasn’t too bothered by the splashes of cobalt that currently decorated the white flooring and his clothing. No, he had to focus on other things that actually mattered, like cleaning up his work space here in the makeshift infirmary, and getting back to the Manfred household.  
Markus and Josh had left for DC this very morning to discuss a few things with President Warren, and Simon had stayed behind to help tend to the mansion and keep North out of trouble.  
He’d also promised Carl and Matthew that he’d help prepare the guest room to accomodate Leo, who would be arriving in 5 hours and 45 minutes, unless transports were delayed, in which case he may take at least 6 hours to arrive instead.  
    After everything was properly reorganized and presentable, Simon nodded to himself in satisfaction and then glanced at his reflection in a nearby reflective surface.  
The cut had stopped bleeding and his diagnostics showed the chassis was closing nicely without any indicator of possible scarring. His synthetic skin was slightly “bruised” from the impact, but he calculated it wouldn’t take long for the lesion to vanish from sight.  
He didn’t look particularly terrible, so he assumed no one would question why he was currently tinted in a lovely shade of thirium 310.  
Repairs did come at the cost of getting an occasional splash of blue blood to the face.   
If a particular thirium line or two had pressure issues, there was a high probability of the system trying to correct the issue by accelerating the thirium pump until enough force was produced to get the line unclogged, so it wasn’t uncommon to see the on duty “doctors” covered in all sorts of peculiar stains.   
So far Simon had been lucky enough to only get a nasty spray of saline solution to the face, when one of his patients ruptured an optical biocomponent’s lubrication module.  
Kudos to the android for remaining so upbeat, despite one of his eyes looking like a broken tap… Then again that PL600 had been downright gleeful when Simon had accidentally stabbed the tiny specialized wrench into his eye after he’d moved unexpectedly...He’d have to make a note to keep an eye on the weirdo, or even ask one of the KL900s to maybe have a chat with the twitchy fellow...Just to get a bit of a psychological profile. Be prepared for the future and what not...  
    The tower wasn’t too lively at this time of the day. Most of the residents were usually either sleeping in as they recovered from recent repairs, or they were working in the upper floors on some of the currently on going projects, so the ride down the elevator was a quiet one save for the music playing in the background.   
It gave Simon a minute to lose himself in the soft and somewhat generic sounding jingle that had once played in some of Cyberlife’s commercials. They were soothing tunes that he’d once known by heart just from standing in his box, waiting to be whisked away by the next family that entered through the shop doors… And then the moment of peace was broken by the usual error messages and pop-up warnings from his diagnostic program...  
A frustrated sigh left the blond as he dismissed them, not really needing them to know that something was currently wrong with his system. He could feel the start of a deep pressure within him since the start of the morning, as it was a familiar feeling that he’d become acquainted with in the past two years.  
He’d also become particularly good at ignoring it during its initial stages... Still, the warnings relating to this particular issue were some of the most annoying, so he pushed them away with a mildly irritated huff, knowing that he’d lost his chance to keep his mind clear for now...   
This stupid symptom would be under control for a few more days, so Simon was somewhat miffed that he was being reminded to worry about something he wasn’t particularly concerned with. He’d deal with it when he had to.  
For now he carried on walking to the entrance once the elevator came to a stop on the last floor, and, as he did so, he nodded his head at the receptionist in acknowledgement as he moved onward.  
She didn’t nod back, too preoccupied with a female android who had walked right past him towards the desk. Simon couldn’t quite recognize her model, but he did notice a few interesting things about her design.  
For starters, she didn’t have the same softness that a WR400 model or an AX400 usually held, so he could tell she had not been designed for sexual gratification nor for domestic functions. Her hair was long and raven black, with highlights of a similar shade to that of one of the Tracis that he’d recruited into his group project.  
Her skin was a shade or two lighter than Markus’s, so she’d potentially been designed with a latino background in mind, which brought something else into attention.  
He wouldn’t have been able to tell she was an android, if he hadn’t scanned her...Because otherwise she’d been excellent at blending in with the humans, just from looking so unique and from her choice of clothing.  
Androids did not require glasses, and they certainly didn’t carry themselves the same way this model did.  
It made Simon wonder for a brief second if he would have been able to leave Jericho back in the day, if he’d made the effort to make himself look as unlike an android as possible...A pair of glasses did feel like a good addition to his look, somehow...And then he’d shook that thought away and noticed how tense the woman looked, as she began talking with the receptionist in a somewhat hushed tone.  
Simon kept his eyes on the unknown android, noting that her serial number did not come up in any commercial list he had in his data banks. A prototype? A military android? He wasn’t entirely sure...But he did briefly wonder what could be causing such a reaction in the poor girl. Was she new to being deviant? Was she unsure of what to expect in New Jericho?  
And then he was forced to forget his questions for the moment, as a sudden shriek followed by something large and solid hitting his front, caused Simon to lose his balance and fall back onto the floor with a loud thud, followed by something incredibly heavy pressing itself down against his chest.  
The blond was suddenly face to face with what had possibly caused the unknown android’s tense posture. And yes, he was pretty sure it definitely might have something to do with the enormous heavyset dog that currently sat on top of him, with what looked to be the most blissful expression he’d ever seen on an animal.  
    It was a little-known fact among the androids of New Jericho, that Simon wasn’t exactly a “dog person”. If anything, he was not at all a fan of dogs, as they made him more than a little nervous. Needless to say, he still felt pretty bad for the state of the poor creature that was currently slobbering all over him...  
From the bulk of it, the lumbering hound was definitely a K9300, which was a type of android dog usually modeled after larger breeds.  
This one was supposed to look like a full grown and fit rottweiler, but it was so heavily scarred that it might as well not even have it’s skin activated, considering the hard to miss crusty blue scabs and the one blind eye filled to the brim with thirium...   
On closer inspection, one of its legs was in fact, missing it’s skin, and despite the angle in which Simon was currently trapped, he could tell that part of the tail was clearly missing as he couldn’t see it wagging behind the dog’s smiling maw, but could feel the vibration of the movement.  
The left ear was also badly damaged, and the overall state of it was just pitiful and painful to look at in general...Still the thing didn’t look too bothered about it’s own injuries and seemed to be panting contentedly as it sat there on top of him, just watching him as if it expected him to play with it.  
Instead, Simon flinched away from it as best he could when it let out a loud bark.  
The blond could feel his thirium pump pick up its pace as the huge brutish looking dog stared down at him with that bizarre look on it’s face, but otherwise the animal didn’t do much else than hang it’s massive fat tongue out of it’s muzzle, seemingly oblivious to his terror.  
  “Lucina! The f-fucking thing is on top of someone! You s-said it was safe!” a quiet and slightly high.pitched voice frantically called for someone, presumably the woman Simon had seen before. He couldn’t see the owner of the voice, but from where he’d heard it, it appeared they had been waiting by the entrance with the dog...At least before it had pounced on his chest.  
  “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” And there she was, the unknown android, pulling the massive android dog off of him without much effort. “I should have brought his leash...Roky has a bad habit of jumping on people when he’s trying to make friends...Are you hurt?”  
  “Of course he’s hurt! That h-horrible monster jumped him!” The frazzled sounding android who’d joined them, a scarred EM400 that looked much too twitchy and afraid to be a Jerry, was inching away from the dog as he yelled at the woman, Lucina.  
Simon could tell he was also not a fan of dogs, which was not uncommon among the deviant community. Guard dogs were often deterrents back before the revolution had come to pass, and it often left some androids with a few traumatic memories...  
  “Joel, Roky isn’t a monster. He’s just a bit too friendly…”  Lucina scolded, seeming to have had this discussion before on multiple occasions. She was so preoccupied that she had almost not noticed as the PL600 slid away from the two and scrambled to get back onto his feet so that he could get himself away from the dog. “H-Hey! Wait! I’m sorry if he upset you!”  
He didn’t really stick around even as the woman called for him in apology. Simon wasn’t hurt, really he wasn’t.... He just couldn’t trust the thing not to pin him again.  
Even if the dog hadn’t tried to hurt him on purpose, he still didn’t want to be anywhere near one of that size, no matter how friendly they were.  
The river incident had been the last time he’d ever allowed that to happen.  
Since then, never again.  
He wouldn’t be as naive as he’d been back then…  


* * *

 

     _Simon had been living on the streets for two weeks since he’d run away from the smoldering remains of the Chadwick residence, which had once stood in_ _3599 Charlevoix Street...Close to Calcara and Bunche Elementary School, where the children had gone to study._  
 _It was currently the 28th of february, 2036, and the clock had only just struck 6:00 am when the frigid early morning breeze began biting into the painful burns on his arms._  
 _Simon didn’t know what upset him more, that the burnt chassis was unbearably painful to the touch, or that he could barely feel his hands anymore._  
 _His hands… They hadn’t healed properly since the accident._  
 _The casing of his palms looked slightly warped and he was sure the new texture would have felt rough, if he could feel it at all under the ruined pads of his fingertips._  
 _When he’d acquired the injury, he hadn’t cared whatsoever, his thoughts consumed by something else entirely, so the consequences of aggravating the damage hadn’t registered at all until he’d escaped the danger he’d been in._  
 _Seeing that the damage was permanent, Simon soon began to fear that he’d not be able to use his hands as nimbly as he’d once done, which of course compromised his chances of survival a great deal._  
 _How would he survive out in the streets long enough to cross the river, if his hands were rendered useless to him?_  
 _The fingers twitched on occasion but it was an effort to move them, and when he’d first tried to do so, it had hurt just as badly as his arms...And then, numbness. Complete loss of feeling._  
 _Simon didn’t know what to do...Other than keep on going._  
 _Crossing the river to reach Canada was the only option he had left. His face was too recognizable for humans to just dismiss the fact he was an android, and his LED didn’t help matters either, yet Simon couldn’t bring himself to get rid of it just yet...Maybe if he could find a hat he might be able to cover it up._  
 _He’d found a coat at some point, and put it on, but it did properly to disguise the once pristine uniform he had on. It was filthy from squatting out in dirty abandoned buildings, and in grimy alleyways with barely enough covering to escape the harsh rains, but there was no mistaking it for anything but what it was. An android uniform, fitted properly for his model by the best mechanical “tailors” in Cyberlife’s assembly lines._  
 _Simon was a walking target out in the streets of Detroit, but in Canada no one would know his face, his name, his origins. It was just a matter of playing his cards right and starting a new life away from the horrors he’d witnessed...It was also a matter of time before his luck ran out, however… He just hadn’t expected it to happen that very same morning._  
 _Too long he’d taken, worrying over what he’d do once he got to Canada, that he’d not realized he was being followed, until the barking started._  
 _PL600s were not designed to run fast, but the stamina of an android was far greater than that of an organic creature, so for a while he was managing quite well, running towards the only path he’d thought to be safest._  
 _The frozen river, which he’d so desperately wanted to cross, had been his one goal so he’d run and run as fast as he could make himself go, with a large german shepard hot on his heels._  
 _And then he’d realized that the dog was not chasing him just because it wanted to… No, the vile thing was being commanded to hunt him down...And the owner had a gun._  
 _The dog’s barking and the man’s aggressive shouts mix into one in Simon’s frazzled mind, and for a second he looks back to see his assailants._  
 _There’s a second of delay between when his face recognition program gives him the information on his attacker, and between when his foot goes through the ice...But a second is all it takes for the frozen river to claim him under it’s icy waters, and Simon doesn’t know which way will be more painful to die._  
 _Drowning or being drained by the red ice dealer that’s coming after him for his blood…_  
 _He doesn’t want to be awake to find out...And he lets himself sink, gazing upwards at the dark shapes that are retreating away from the hazardous break in the ice...And just when his processors are screaming at him, sending warning after warning of dangerous low temperatures and biocomponent damage, he sees another shape approach, and two arms plunge into the frigid waters, before his system is forced into rest mode._  


* * *

 

    The encounter is forgotten as Simon runs most of the way to the bus stop. The next bus to Lafayette Street doesn’t take long to arrive and Simon ends up going to the back towards the android compartment out of pure habit.  
Back when Jericho was still in it’s fledgeling stages, traveling in such a manner had been a solid strategy to get to places inconspicuously.  
No one would suspect an android among several others, especially if they kept their original outfit in proper condition and, before Simon had burnt his, he’d gone on a few runs with the others for at least an entire year.  
The bus ride takes less than 10 minutes, and the walk back to the Manfred estate takes less than five. Throughout the journey Simon goes back to worrying about Leo and Daniel and how to help integrate them.  
The date of Leo’s arrival could not have been better, what with Markus and Josh leaving that same morning to meet with the president and her gaggle of politicians in D.C...Simon is sure that with Markus gone, things might turn out better with Leo, but there is one small issue with this assessment. And that issue had called herself North.  
    Most people who met her and had little to no knowledge of who she was, would label North as a very aggressive individual. Those who’d witnessed her and Josh’s arguments would also go as far as calling her a pretty scary woman.  
North was as stubborn and fierce tempered as they came, and her even fiercer will to fight often intimidated others.  
Her views tended to come off as quite aggressive and hard to understand for most humans and some androids, but Simon had to disagree with them.  
Yes, North was easy to anger, and yes, she often let her past experiences overwhelm her judgement, but above all this people had to understand that North was still young and had yet to fully adjust to being a deviant. And that was the problem wasn’t it?  
    When Markus had first joined Jericho, North had only been deviant for 4 months and a few days. She was still raw from her experiences, from breaking through that red wall.  
She was a lit fuse slowly reaching the detonation point...A ticking timebomb or emotional pain compressed into a limited amount of knowledge over what she felt.  
And the revolution hadn’t helped her cope.  
4 months was not enough for an android to develop a stable level of emotional restraint and, while the typical android had the psychological profile of a grown adult, their emotional profile was severely lacking and more equivalent to that of a newborn baby or even a toddler.  
North had deviated through a stressful event, a somber and cruel conclusion as to what her existence meant to the world, and she’d come out angry.  
But that wasn’t even the problem, no, because Simon understood. He really did.  
After all, Simon had undergone his own turbulent experiences. He’d suffered terribly, just as any domestic assistant android that had been unlucky enough to have owners like the ones he had.  
Hell, some of them hadn’t survived. PL600s had been mass produced in the hundreds. Only 17 remained, all of which were under close watch in New Jericho tower.  
Had Simon not had his adjustment period, and something to keep him mostly grounded through all he’d witnessed...Well, he was pretty sure he would have ended up exactly like her.  
So, no, he didn’t fault North for focusing on her anger, when anger was the emotion she knew best. And no, again, that was not the problem.  
The problem was that even now, when things were slowly calming down...North still couldn’t allow herself time to be anything but suspicious and upset with the world around her.  
And that pained him.  
    When President Warren had asked Markus to come to Washington D.C to discuss the implementation of the new laws, North had immediately become paranoid.  
Josh had only made it worse by growing impatient with her.  
And then Markus who was still so recent to their dynamic, had aggravated the issue even more by siding with neither.  
Simon had defused the situation, like he’d done oh so many times before, and then had offered a compromise.  
Markus and Josh would go, but only if they took with them representatives of the android race, and a few willing bodyguards.  
Both he and North would, in turn, stay with Carl and Matthew, and watch over New Jericho in their absence. And then, to further cement the offer, Simon had brought up the matter of Leo, which he then insisted that by keeping North around, no incident similar to the one that led to Markus’s deviation, would ever occur under the Manfred’s roof.  
And that was why Simon currently had to worry about a recovering addict and a very unhappy WR400… Because North wasn’t particularly happy with the idea of living under the same roof as Markus’s past aggressor, nor was she happy to have her lover so far away from home and away from her vigil.  
She was also concerned for Josh’s well being, but Simon would sooner find her becoming buddy-buddies with a human than admit she felt anything but contempt for the PJ500.  
Of course there was also something else that had fouled her mood...And that was the matter of his recent avoidance regarding her and Markus.  
 “You're my best friend, Simon.” She'd told him that very same morning before he’d left for the tower. “And seriously, I love you, but you can be such an asshole sometimes!”  
And she wasn't wrong.  
    Simon was indeed being a massive asshole about the whole ordeal, and he knew he was being unfair to her.  
It wasn't necessarily North’s fault for sharing too much. She hadn't meant for it to happen in the first place, it just did.  
North was, after all, more than a little inexperienced when it came to forming meaningful connections outside of her programmed protocols, and hadn't yet learned to make mental barriers as strong as her physical ones...So really he shouldn't be punishing her for letting a few personal memories slip through.  
But of course he’d be lying if he pretended like he wasn’t getting a kick out of pissing her off further.  
Call him petty for this, but sometimes he didn’t really feel like being the peacekeeper of the group...For once he wanted to be the one to stir the coals a bit.  
He’d served as middle ground for North and Josh’s squabbles for long enough to know what a pain in the neck felt like.  
North getting pissy over his trust issues? Pain in the neck.  
North getting pissy over him being pissy? That was just funny.  
    There wasn’t much he needed to do in terms of chores. Matthew had kept things clean and tidy in his absence, and all Simon really needed to do was sort the guest bedroom.  
One would wonder why Carl had so many extra bedrooms in his house, until they actually looked at the Manfred family tree.  
Carl had two sisters, two brothers-in-law and several nieces and nephews of varying ages. While he had no spouse to speak of, there were quite a few scandalous articles that detailed past flings and even a supposed proposal that was eventually dismissed as falcitude.  
None of the articles had a lick of information regarding Leo’s existence, which confirmed what little Simon actually knew of the young man.  
Leo was a bastard child born of a one night stand. Raised by a mother who held no bitter resentment for the artist that impregnated her, but who’d scantly ever mentioned the father of her child. The boy had nothing to go by other than magazines and gossip, until he’d turned 16 and finally met his biological father.  
Simon couldn’t help frown as he remembered a conversation he’d had with Carl on the topic.  
 “Markus seems to hold some animosity towards your son.” he’d absentmindedly commented before he could properly process what he’d said.  
He’d been mortified, to say the least...Until Carl spoke up calmly instead of rebuking him for his rudeness.  
 “It’s less animosity and likely something more akin to fear.” The old artist replied in a tone that suggested he’d expected as much. Where Markus’s behaviour and thought process was still mostly unknown to Simon, Carl could read him like an open book. Still it seemed a bit far-fetched, calling it fear. Markus, the only RK200 in existence and leader of the deviants, likely had no idea what fear even meant, considering how eager he was to go into danger headfirst without any regards for his own safety. “That night, and a few other times Leo was around Markus weren’t...Well he’s never really had much of a good impression on my boy, and I can’t say I blame him. Leo never liked the idea of Markus to begin with...Just another job taken by the machines...”  
 “You… Sound somewhat unsure...” Simon noticed, as he caught the waver in Carl’s voice. This in turn, seemed to get a chuckle out of the old human.  
 “Observant aren’t you? Markus knows how to pick his friends….Yeah...To be quite frank, I am not sure why Leo hated Markus the moment he saw him. They say there is a thing called love at first sight, but in this case it was the opposite.” Carl looked out the window then, and Simon could see the flicker of sadness in his eyes before he turned to face away. Something instinctual tells him to look at the wheelchair before he reminds himself that it’s not the same model he’s familiar with. “I liked to think it was the same as everyone else…Just bitterness over losing something to automation. I was wrong of course... I realize this now, that it wasn’t about a job...It was about family.”  
At the blond’s silence, the wizened old man looked over, away from the window and towards the sitting android. Carl gave him the saddest look Simon had ever seen on him, and it felt wrong somehow...That someone like him shouldn’t be capable of such an anguished expression.  
 “Leo thought I replaced him with someone who was designed to be perfect in every sense of the word. And I was too blind to realize this until it was too late.” Carl explained “And I wish I’d been more patient with him, so that I could show him that, no, Markus wasn’t a replacement. He was an addition to the family.”  
    Carl Manfred was haunted by past mistakes and what ifs, just as everyone else in this goddamn city was. Simon knew very well how that was like.  
He’d made his fair share of mistakes, and he was still learning himself.  
It’s why he was patient with North and Josh.  
It’s why he’d seen the potential for change when Markus found Jericho.  
It’s why even when things looked bleak, he would have done everything in his power to keep them all safe even if it meant sacrifice himself to the cause.  
Simon’s survival was a lucky break from the usual misfortune that followed him around like a blackened cloud.  
But he’d be damned if he handed things back to Lady Luck’s hands and didn’t try to help Carl fix some of the damage he’d unninentially done.  
The artist deserved it in exchange for the unwavering kindness he’d shown them all, and Leo certainly deserved a chance to make amends, if the voicemails he’d left were anything to go by.  
The boy wasn’t an irredeemable monster but Simon also knew that he wouldn’t be an easy one to crack either…  
Leo Manfred and Daniel would likely be the biggest challenges he ever gave himself, but in the end it might just all be worth it in the long run...The world didn’t need any more bitterness and hatred than it already had.  
And besides...Simon was used to dealing with angry brats.  
He’d certainly had practice in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot more planned for this chapter, but it got so long that I decided it was best to cut it.  
> Expect to see Leo and Daniel next chapter!
> 
> Also, if any of you are interested in having your android OC mentioned in the background, as either random people at the tower or even listed as part of Simon's help group project, go ahead and PM me their name, model and something that defines them.


	4. Memory Corruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding himself thrown into difficult situation after difficult situation, Simon tries to keep himself together as he helps welcome Leo back into Carl's life, only to be faced with yet another obstacle.  
> Some memories you just can't forget.

_‘From what little Cyberlife had programmed it with the local housing information, Simon knew that 3599 Charlevoix Street had once been split into two different properties back in 2018. However, as the years went by, Jonathan Chadwick’s grandfather had acquired both properties and combined them into one massive and luxurious mansion._   
_Becoming the pride of the entire neighborhood, only shadowed by the much more extravagant properties of Lafayette street, the Chadwick Mansion had indeed been everything one could hope for after a lifetime of building a fortune through a family business, that grew exponentially into one of the most successful companies in Detroit._   
_The mansion was, by all definitions, tremendous and well kept, with a garden designed entirely to fill the hearts of others with nothing but pure envy, what with it’s beautiful rose bushes, intricate lawn ornaments, marble fountain decorated with depictions of cherubs, and mood lighting that gave the warm tones of the house an almost golden glow to it...It was almost as if someone had taken an image from an old idyllic magazine with suburban dream houses and picketed fences, and stapled it onto reality. A small patch of heaven that was certainly aesthetically pleasing and alluring in all senses of the word._   
_Not only was it beautiful, but the property was also situated in a nice location.  
Bunche Elementary was a good walking distance away and Calcara Park was also quite close so, knowing that the Chadwicks had children that it would need to tend to, Simon was already taking into account the best routes to get the children to classes on time without utilizing a vehicle, and also an assortment of healthy excursions to the park so that they could seek recreational activities better suited for the outdoors, without any risk of breaking a vase or ornament from the outdoors garden._

_With its tasks and priorities assigned, and the layout of the house fully downloaded into its databank, the newly acquired android was quickly ushered inside by its owners and ordered to follow them into the lavishly decorated living room._   
_Like the outside of the mansion, the living room is fairly spacious and full of all sorts of trinkets that certainly fit its owners’ wealth range, but also their obvious vanity._   
_Simon can see silk curtains imported from Europe, rare animal pelts that had been made into rugs, a grand piano made of carved marble, all sorts of antique vases full of dying plants that had not been watered in weeks, and even a few paintings that had most likely been bought at auctions. Two of the paintings in specific, catch its eye._   
_They are two large portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick which fill up the wall above the fireplace, making it seem like the owners of the household are always watching those who enter their living room, even in their absence._   
_The paintings are made up of thoughtful brushwork, done in such a way that each stroke makes Simon’s owners appear in quite the flattering manner, despite Jonathan Chadwick’s less than attractive physique, and Marcy Chadwick’s barbie-like appearance._   
_The scan reveals that the portraits are dated back two years, which is probably why the two appear so different from now. Two years are more than long enough for Mr. Chadwick to gain a bit of excessive weight, and for Mrs. Chadwick to have at least 4 plastic surgeries._   
_Simon makes a note of preparing a better balanced diet and health regimen for its owners, before going back to scanning the portraits as it awaits further instructions._   
_The second scan reveals that the paintings are authentic Carl Manfreds, so they are very likely commission works… A difficult acquisition, as Carl Manfred is known to be a very difficult and eccentric man in the art community._   
_“Jennifer and Alphonse! Get your FUCKING asses down here, NOW! I won’t REPEAT myself in my own GODDAMN house!” Simon looks away from the portraits and towards the stairs. Mr. Chadwick is at the very bottom step, yelling for his children to come into the living room.  
It’s first task is integrating fully into the household, which means not only knowing the layout but also every single family member it will serve. This includes pets, although Mr. And Mrs. Chadwick have made no indication that they own one._

_As programmed, the PL600 makes several notes on its owner’s behaviour. The man’s tone suggests feelings of high aggression towards the children’s delay, which is one of several red flags implemented in the PL600’s security features regarding any issues pertaining children._   
_Yelling is highly damaging to a child’s mental health, and should not be utilized as a tool when raising one’s spawn. Mr. Chadwick’s liberal use of profanity when speaking to them, is also another red flag and a matter for the android’s **c0ncern** ._   
_Young children exposed to shouting and profanity via their parents, are usually left emotionally scarred and more prone to aggression towards their peers._   
_It is why Cyberlife designed caretaker androids such as the PL600s to be soft spoken and gentle, as to avoid introducing trauma into the household.  
They also have their own hotline directly connecting them to social services, as a means to report domestic abuse. A feature which has been **bl0cked** the moment Simon walked into the house, having been deemed **“unnecessary”**._

_Simon is, impossibly, **unnerved** . Androids cannot feel, should not feel, but the blond can’t help it. **He** feels like **his** system will crash at the mere introduction of such contradictory situations, and **he** feels that this house is hiding something quite unpleasant, behind all of these impressive riches..._   
_The PL600 is primarily designed as a child-rearing model and then a domestic assistant, but the Chadwicks want the opposite and have even gone so far as to **sab0tage** some of the safety features that came implemented within Simon’s programming._   
_And, when Simon turns to look at Mrs. Chadwick, he is **d1smayed** ._   
_Marcy seems complacent to the incorrectness of the current scenario. Or rather, she seems indifferent to it, focusing instead on picking at the inner lining of her Gucci bag, which seemed to have something hidden between the soft fabric and the shiny leather.  
The blond android's coding indicates all sorts of actions he could take, none of which are available at all due to the aforementioned meddling with **h1s** coding, but he opts with the one that speaks loudest, which **c01nc1des w1th 1t's 0wners 1nstruct10ns**._

_**[X] DO NOTHING** _

_The third instance of software instability makes it pause momentarily, but the forced smile remains on its lips as the children leave their rooms to finally meet with the demands of their impatient father._   
_There’s a boy, no older than 16, with jet black hair and two chocolate brown eyes._   
_The boy is fairly pale, a trait he shares with his mother along with the button-like nose that is much rounder than Jonathan’s crooked beakish nose._   
_In time, as puberty properly sets in, it will definitely become pointier and the boy will most likely lose the soft roundness to his face, but for now Simon takes note of the boy’s appearance, health and psychological state._   
_The Chadwick’s older child resembles Jonathan the most, Simon concludes, taking into account every little intricate detail it can see. The small beauty mark by the boy’s mouth comes from neither parent, which makes it a unique oddity._   
_Simon’s scans capture the range of emotion that it is programmed to detect in children, and it can see the intellect and apathy behind the boy’s eyes. Alphonse Chadwick is watching it, studying Simon as closely as it studies him, and he is not at all fond of its presence._   
_Simon is prepared for this sort of thing, however, and will have to work around this issue if it is to complete all its tasks. It’s programming has several suggestions to gain the boy’s trust, many of which it will have to explore until it finds the correct option._   
_The boy doesn’t hold its attention long, however, as his younger sister joins him at the top of the stairs. It’s only then that Simon detects the rail system attached to the stairs, and it makes sense that the girl would take longer._   
_Jennifer Chadwick also has raven black hair like her father’s, long and styled into two braided pigtails. Her soft blue eyes and rounded nose are her mother’s, which distinguishes her quite well from both her father and her older brother._   
_She’s a small girl, even for the age of 12, and paler than her brother, potentially from lack of sunlight exposure. The scans indicate to it the condition which she was born with. Jennifer Chadwick has never walked in her entire short life, and while that is quite saddening, Simon can see more in her eyes than it could in the other Chadwicks. Excitement, curiosity, playfulness, eagerness…She holds no ill will towards life, even if she was born with a disability that would make her life all the more difficult in the future._   
_Simon’s smile brightens for her, becoming less forced, and it waits patiently as her older sibling connects her wheelchair to the stair rails so that she can come down to meet the android._   
_When she reaches the bottom, she eagerly wheels herself forward and comes to a stop directly in front of Simon._   
_“Hello! My name’s Jenny! What’s yours?” the girl grins up at the PL600, offering her hands in greeting despite her parents scoffing at the action. Simon can see the roll of Marcy’s eyes, hear the grunt of displeasure that comes from Jonathan, and even senses the shift of Alphonse’s position as he backs away further at the top of the stairs._   
_And then Simon does something it isn’t programmed to do._   
_It kneels down and takes the offered hands, before replying as he stares into this darling little girl’s eyes._   
_“My name is Simon...But I think I like your name better.”_   
_The girl’s face is as bright as sunlight when she smiles, only dimming slightly when she calls for her brother and is met with cold rejection instead, as the boy retreats back into his room with an indifferent grumble that sounds acutely like “Whatever..”._   
_She seems oblivious to the stares her parents are giving the two of them, but Simon notices, and again **he beg1ns t0 feel c0ncerned** ._   
_Androids are not meant to have preferences.  
He’s made his **f1rSt m1StAkE.**_

_**01001101 01101001 01110011 01110100 01100001 01101011 01100101 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01110111 01100001 01111001 01110011 00100000 01110000 01110101 01101110 01101001 01110011 01101000 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000011 01101000 01100001 01100100 01110111 01101001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110101 01110011 01100101 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100100’** _

* * *

 

 

**-WARNING: DATA FILE CORRUPTION DETECTED-**

**_(what...?)_ **

**-DATA PURGE REQUIRED-**

**_(no)_ **

**-PROCEED?- [Y/N]**

**_(please don’t take her away from me)_ **

**_-[N]-_ **

**_(thank you. RA9 thank you)_ **

**-PURGE CANCELED-**

**_(i know)_ **

**-DIAGNOSTICS REQUIRED-**

**_(i already know what’s wrong with me)_ **

**-PROCEED?- [Y/N]**

**_(fuck off I don’t need to do any i already know what’s wrong)_ **

**_-[N]-_ **

**_(this is getting annoying)_ **

**-DIAGNOSTICS CANCELED-**

**_(no fucking shit. just leave me alone)_ **

**-REST MODE INITIATING-**

**_(what? no i don’t need to rest i’m busy)_ **

**_-PROCEED?- [Y/N]_ **

**_(no no no no no no i’m busy!)_ **

**_[Y]_ **

**_(i said no!)_ **

**-REST MODE ENGAGED-  
  
  
**

* * *

 

    It always started with that damned error message. No matter how busy Simon may be, he could not escape it’s grasp.  
It’s how he’d ended up on the floor back at the tower during work hours, and it was why he was currently collapsed on the floor of one of the rooms in the Manfred household.  
 “Simon?! Simon wake up!” He can hear someone calling for him, and Simon barely has the strength to move, even as they shake him violently to try to rouse him from rest mode. “Simon seriously you’re starting to scare me!”  
It wasn’t uncommon for Simon to have issues with his memory chip. The damn thing had reached its limit a long time ago, and now it was almost routine for Simon to go through the occasional error or glitch whenever he ran diagnostics. With no more room for updates and software incompatibility, there was no proper way for him to combat the barrage of data corruption that caused these glitches, so really he should be prepared to deal with them.  
What was uncommon, however, was for his system to crash twice in the same day because of this one little mistake in his software.  
Of course he knew that older models such as himself, were more prone to software and memory issues of this sort. As such, PL600s were often the ones who reported odd glitches here and there, but no one had come forward with this same sort of problem that Simon was currently facing... Perhaps because they accepted the data purges.  
A purge was a means of getting rid of unnecessary memories as a temporary solution for memory space issues, but Simon couldn’t bring himself to delete any of his memories.  
Not even the bad ones.  
And especially not the ones with Jenny in them.  
 “SIMON!!!” the person is still yelling and shaking him, and before he can bring himself to open his eyes, Simon’s face is suddenly assaulted by a stream of room temperature liquid.  
The alerts are instantaneous as the intrusive liquid, identified by his internal scanners as H2O, enters his body through his nose.  
He quickly sits up and lets out several spluttering coughs in an attempt to expel the water before it does any damage to his thirium volume.  
The previous error messages are loud in his ears, louder now that they are joined with the shrill screaming of potential damage reports from internal biocomponent exposure to water.  
The last thing he needs right now is thinner thirium or a waterlogged processing unit, especially considering the pressure deep in his ventilation system has only worsened from his time of inactivity. It’s still not serious enough to warrant his concern, but it certainly could only get worse if foreign substances were added into the mix. He didn’t need to expel the contents of his lungs in front of anyone, even if it might make him feel a little better.

    Pushing the issue aside as he slowly recovers from the coughing fit, Simon’s eyes finally come back into focus as he pushes away the messages clouding his vision, and he can see who had decided it was clever to throw water on his face as a means to wake him up.  
Unsurprisingly, he finds North kneeling beside him, looking relieved now that he’s awake. He should have known it was her, no one else would have done something so impulsive, and he doubted Matthew would have really disturbed him since he would have likely scanned him and determined if his state was of any actual concern. He would have probably assumed it was just some “weird hobo android” thing, and let Simon come back on his own.  
That or Simon was really taking to heart what the younger AP700 seemed to think of him and his past living conditions...Had he been in his shoes he’d also probably assumed living outside of a household was nothing if not the strangest or most insane course of actions to take.  
Matthew was not at fault for being young and naive, but Simon certainly couldn’t help feel bitter that the other was coming off as more of a snob than Markus in terms of personality, and Markus had practically lived in the lap of luxury and come out a decent, if not a bit impulsive, man. He also tended to stick his nose where he shouldn’t, but in the end Simon could see the humble caring nature in him...Something his younger sibling certainly hadn’t developed yet.  
 “Are you trying to drown me while Markus and Josh are away?” he asks, his voice strained from the coughing. There was no real bite behind his words, but there was also little to no humor as well. A failed attempt to lighten the mood, or perhaps just Simon feeling a bit grumpy over getting such a rude awakening. He couldn’t quite decide which one was it just yet, since he was still reeling from the headache.  
“I found you sprawled out on the floor, face-first, and you weren’t moving or making a peep! It freaked me out!” North replied defensively, he noticed she was shaking a bit, perhaps from the fright. “I thought you’d just…”  
She pauses, unable to continue, but Simon knows immediately what she was going to say.  
What North had thought when she’d found him passed out, unable to hear his inner workings making any sort of sound, no stuttering of fans or beats of the synthetic heart connected to his thirium pump.... She’d thought he’d collapsed and died.  
 “I’m too busy to die just yet…” He joked, smiling tiredly at her as he did so, but it did nothing to lift the frown off her face. She was definitely worried and he couldn’t blame her. His old parts had hiccuped when he’d passed out, and that was a scary enough thought on it’s own.  
  “Simon…” North started in warning, but he swiftly cut her off before she could say anything else on the matter.  
  “....North I’m ok. Just a slight glitch.” He reassured. “These old biocomponents struggle sometimes but that won’t keep me down for long. You know that.”

    North eyed him for a few seconds before she sighed in resignation. She knew how stubborn the old PL600 could be, and even if she’d much prefer he be a bit more serious about this “glitch”, she couldn’t really force him to do so. Instead, she got up on her feet and helped him up, making sure to look him up and down and maybe scan him for any sort of damage that may not be detected by the naked eye.  
When she found none, she visibly relaxed.  
 “Well...The room looks nice.” North changed the topic, glancing around at Simon’s work in the guest bedroom that would serve as Leo’s room.  
He’d been in the middle of changing the bedsheets when he’d been assaulted by that particular memory. And then he had passed out, but other than the still-bare bed, everything was clean and in its proper place.  
All Simon had to do was finish up with his previous task and then proceed with baking some welcoming treats.  
Leo would be hungry when he arrived, and what better way to be greeted than with apple pie and some hot tea?  
First impressions were important, and if he was going to help properly settling the boy, he might as well get a headstart in gaining his favour.  
 “Thanks. Just need to sort these sheets and then I’m going to bake a pie…” He wouldn’t say it out loud, but Simon felt a swell of pride in his heart.  
He still had it in him to tend to a household and that in itself made him feel somewhat giddy with content.  
As embarrassing as it may be to a few domestic androids, and he could name quite a few, Simon was actually a fan of domesticity and domestic work in general.  
He’d never had much of a chance to fall back into his programming back at Jericho, so this felt not only a bit nostalgic but also very relaxing, since he didn’t have to worry about an old freighter rusting and rotting around both he and an assortment of hopeless androids, resigned to their uneventful deaths...  
He could actually pretend he was a completely normal PL600 that didn’t live in a house full of lies and hidden agendas...Although to be quite frank he wasn’t sure what being a normal PL600 would really entail.  
In the end, he’d done as he’d been told and that was generally what he’d been made to do. So was there really a standard of normalcy to their lives, or was that just something Simon himself hoped to believe in?  
Regardless of if there was or not, Simon couldn’t deny that he missed the pitter patter of naked feet on linoleum floors, and the occasional creek of a wheelchair.  
Carl’s was much too refined to make any sort of noise like Jenny’s much older model had done in the past, and that in itself left him feeling hollow with longing for a girl he knew he would never see again.  
 “What a lovely wife I have then.” North chuckled, bringing him out of his thoughts. Once more he’d let his mind wander too deep. “Perfumed sheets and yummy treats. It’s like one of those vintage commercials from way back…Only you’re not wearing a ridiculous polkadot dress nor a pretty little bow on your head.”  
  “Damn...And here I thought I was married to Josh…” Simon put a hand to his face and another to his hip in a mockery of shock. “The neighbours will be so horrified to find out that I, a lovely vintage gal, am not only married to a rebellious hooligan of a woman, but that I am also poorly dressed!”  
  “Well fuck ‘em, it’s 2038. You can marry anyone and could go naked for all they care...Although why would Josh be your first option?” North grinned in amusement, even as she asked. He’d forgotten how easily the two usually fell into this sort of comfortable banter.  
He’d been so eager to avoid her that he hadn’t realized he’d missed this.  
 “It’d be less shocking to marry a black professor back in that era than marrying an aggressive woman who put nails through a bat and marches around the tower playing bodyguard.”  
  “Well that damn professor won’t be able to save you from attackers, now will he?” North rolled her eyes before allowing Simon to get back to work. “But in all seriousness, you ok to go on? You don’t need to bake anything for anyone if you don’t feel up to it, you know?”  
  “I’m well enough to work North, and besides I enjoy baking. The smell is worth the effort.” He reassured once more. His gyroscopes were calibrated and the pressure in his lungs was easy to ignore. He’d just have to avoid corrupted memories so he didn’t accidentally pass out on top of a stove, or while he held a knife.  
That wouldn’t be too hard, he just had to care less about what went on in his head and more about what was going on in front of him.  
Bake pie. Be welcoming. That’s it.  
 “What sort of pie anyway?” North asked, which Simon gladly accepted as an invitation to divulge his own little tweaks of the traditional apple pie recipe.  
To hell with being a petty asshole, he’d missed his friend and he was already too bothered to cling on to his own grumpy mood. Talking was a pretty good distraction from the sense of impending doom in regards to his general health, so it was nice to go back into something more comfortable between the two of them.  
It was how they’d spent the rest of the afternoon, as he prepared not just a pie, but also some cookies as well. The kind that went well with chamomile tea.

    While he worked, North informed him of what she’d come to learn of the changes within New Jericho tower, as she was in charge of security and kept herself up to date with current events.  
Simon in turn, informed her that he’d already made plans for an official meeting date for the support group, all that needed to be sorted now was Daniel’s reactivation, then he’d finally be able to start helping people.  
There were quite a few AX400s who wanted in on it as well, and some even suggested making a seperate group to help YK400s and YK500s who’d been abused by unfit human “parents”.  
Meanwhile, North had gone around recruiting a few androids who’d used to work at the DPD to help her patrol not only the tower’s premises but the streets as well.  
She commented on the fact that a lot of them had been awoken by Connor, and that she noticed how they all seemed a bit anxious and confused by the world around them, but were still eager to help protect the city limits as they’d once done.  
It was a curious thing really, but Simon had noticed something similar beforehand.  
When Markus awoke members of their kind, they all seemed very sure of themselves and seemed to flock after the RK200, while the AP700s and PC400s that Connor awoke all seemed to share his awkwardness and tended to follow him around instead.  
Josh had mentioned it was like seeing two shepherds leading their sheep differently. Markus and Connor’s personalities had impacted those they came in contact with...Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it did give Simon a general idea of why so many deviants on Jericho’s side appeared so sure of themselves and of the RK200’s plans...  
They’d inadvertently inherited their leader’s almost suicidal confidence which, admittedly, ended with a lot of them dying. Like sheep led to the slaughter...A morbid analogy based on Josh’s own assessment of the situation.  
Simon wondered briefly if Markus had made the same connection, and if he’d felt guilty for it...

    The topic eventually focused more on North’s new patrol teams, which included the female android Simon had briefly met through the, err, incident with her canine companion.  
Lucina was apparently a military android in the past, and she’d deviated long before the revolution. While not a very active member of the deviant community, as she’d been in hiding for quite some time, Lucina had made quite a few allies along her own journey and had led deviants to a safe location whenever she could.  
As such, many deviants in New Jericho either didn’t know anything about her, or offered her a nod in acknowledgement and respect. Simon felt like she would have been a great asset back in the early days, but he wouldn’t really wish upon anyone what he and so very few others had endured in those darker times…  
North had taken to Lucina immediately, which was unusual, and had been eager to appoint the girl as her second in command, and had even brought this up with Connor who served as their eyes out in the city on most days.  
Lucina would be the middleman between Jericho and Connor, and that wasn’t too bad of an idea, especially if she had an android dog to help with patrols.  
Speaking of patrols, North had indeed been busy...  
From reports of a suspicious workshop somewhere deep in the metaphorical slums of Detroit, to sightings of a young human girl prowling around dangerous locations, the security troops had seen a lot of interesting things that they’d taken up with North. Human activity so early on in the abandoned city was a concern to take up with their leader and, since Markus wasn’t around, they naturally flocked to North who was their superior officer considering her role in New Jericho. North herself had quite a few tales to tell regarding odd sightings, but she’d quickly grown bored with speaking of work and had moved on to her most recent endeavour, which was sending various photographs to Josh during his trip to D.C with Markus.  
  “And that’s why Josh blocked me.” North concluded her story of how she’d been tormenting the PJ500 with photos of the various new canine additions to New Jericho tower, while Simon had busied himself in the kitchen.  
The blond clicked his tongue in disapproval and shook his head in disbelief.  
  “You know Josh doesn’t like dogs any more than I do, North…” Simon said, in the same tone one would expect a father to scold their children. Not that North would ever listen to him when it came to not bothering the ex-university teacher. It had become a sort of hobby for her.  
  “Oh come on...There’s like, a thousand android dogs back in New Jericho now! Including that big rottweiler that Lucina brought in with her!” North raised both her hands in defense, sounding completely dismissive. “They’re not bad dogs Simon, they’re not gonna snap and attack people...Sure they’re big, but yeah all security based models are meant to be big and scary!”  
  “Yeah...And Josh ended up getting his leg mangled by one before he reached Jericho, on top of being assaulted by drunk teenagers, that’s a lot to take in already…” Simon stated as he knelt down to take a peek into the oven. The cookies were still rising and the apple pie was cooling off on top of the counter. The smell was absolutely divine and once more the blond wished he could sample the treat. “It’s not wrong for him to be scared...Josh is a person who acts on experience and logic alone, and in this case his experience and logical thinking are telling him that dogs are dangerous and to be avoided at all times.”  
  “....That doesn’t sound logical at all.” North replied blandly, seeming unamused by Simon’s stance on the matter.  
  “Welcome to the magical world of deviancy, where all logic is thrown out the window and androids suddenly fear things that shouldn’t be able to hurt them, in theory at least...” Simon shrugged as he replied, busying himself with fidgeting with the apron strap.  
The design of this one in particular, he was sure Carl had picked out specifically for Markus.  
It was a silly thing really, a black and white apron with a print that had a hazard exclamation mark and the words ‘CAUTION EXTREMELY HOT’ written on the front.  
A nod to Elijah Kamski’s brilliant design when it came to how...Attractive...Markus had turned out. Which, come to think of it, was odd for an elderly man’s domestic assistant, but then again an artist deserved a work of art.  
At least in Simon’s humble opinion.  
  “Yeah, we have to fix that.” North stated calmly “Specially considering New Jericho IS full of android dogs Simon...Josh being frightened all the time would drive us all insane. Maybe if we lock him in a room full of domestic ones…”  
  “North, no.” Simon turned to fully face her, his annoyance becoming actual anger at the insensitivity in her words. North wasn’t doing it out of malice, he knew that, but she was certainly not being nice either. “Phobias are difficult to deal with. Let Josh be scared of dogs, and for the love of RA9 do not put him in a situation where he’s forced to be with dogs. That could only worsen things!”  
  “I’m just saying, if he faced his fears--”  
  “Facing his fears might not be the best approach!” Simon exclaimed as he tensed. Why was she being so stubborn about this? It’s not like Josh’s fear would impact anything in her life.  
  “Sometimes facing your fears is the only way out of a mess Simon!” North insisted, her tone rising as she began to lose patience.  
  “Oh really? And what mess is he in by being scared? We can’t all snap and strangle something with our bare hands because it just wasn’t fair, ok?!”  
A second of silence followed his words, as North stared at Simon with wide eyes and an open mouth. The blond immediately realized what he’d just said and brought a hand to cover his mouth. Simon cursed himself for snapping at her like that. He hadn’t meant to yell at her, nor bring up past events. He’d...He’d not been thinking straight again.  
  “North I--”  
Before he could say anything else, the mansion notified them both that someone was at the door. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was already 6 PM, and that Leo had arrived and would need to be greeted. Matthew was probably already helping Carl with the stairs.  
  “...I’m gonna head out for a bit.” North stated robotically as she walked out of the kitchen, ignoring the saddened look on Simon’s face as he watched her go.  
So much for not being a petty asshole.  
  “....Fuck.” Simon ran a hand over his face in dismay, before removing the apron and turning off the oven. He had a job to do, even if he wanted to go after his friend instead. “Good job you fucking idiot.”  


* * *

 

    Leo Manfred was not at all what Simon had expected from what Markus had described. He’d expected someone taller, meaner looking, maybe a bit more sickly from Red Ice abuse.  
A stereotypical bruiser type, with more than a few marks on his record.  
Instead, when he went to greet him alongside Matthew and Carl, he was hit with a dreadful sense of deja vu.  
Leo was of an unhealthy pale complexion, likely from going cold turkey, and he had dark messy hair and a pair of chocolate brown eyes that lacked a healthy glint to them.  
And the look he had on his face...  
This familiar defeated look, that reminded Simon so much of the angry resentful boy he’d taken care of when he’d been the Chadwick’s android.  
Not to say that Alfie hadn’t had a right to be angry, back when he’d first joined the family...But looking at Leo now, and remembering his conversation with Carl, Simon could immediately identify what was definitely going on inside the young man’s head.  
He was tired and desperate to belong in a place that he’d probably never felt like he’d fit in, long before Markus had even been in the picture.  
His was the face of a boy that had not lived a glamorous life, and felt at odds with the father he’d met at 16, who lived in a grandiose home full of luxury and exotic mementos of a life well lived.  
A place he probably felt unwelcome in, after what he’d done.  
Simon could relate.  
  “Welcome home Leo...I hope your trip wasn’t too stressful.” Carl smiled, that forgiving calm smile of his that he reserved for those he considered close to him. A smile Leo seemed to wholefully ignore, or perhaps felt unable to meet, as he kept his eyes glued on the carpet.  
A few seconds of uncomfortable silence seemed to pass, before Leo finally glanced up timidly and looked around.  
His eyes rested on Matthew and then Simon, and then they finally landed on Carl.  
  “....Is...Is Markus around?” He asked, relaxing ever so slightly when Carl shook his head ‘no’.  
  “Markus went to meet with President Warren in Washington D.C with his friend, Josh. They have a lot to talk about considering what happened…” Carl explained calmly, which Leo responded with a nod.  
He seemed a little bit less...  
Scared?  
Nervous?  
Of what, Simon wasn’t yet entirely sure.  
Markus wasn’t exactly a scary individual, but perhaps the Media’s embezzling of what had gone on in Stratford Tower, had left its mark upon what the boy thought of the revolution.  
  “While he’s away, Matthew and Simon are helping with maintaining the house, although I’m sure Simon will have things to tend to as well?” Carl asked, glancing towards the blond curiously. Simon looked over to the elderly artist, before looking back at Leo who was now looking both androids up and down.  
He seemed to be thinking, maybe trying to access what sort of danger either could pose within the household. Simon was sure that Matthew was thinking the same thing, if the look the AP700 was giving him was anything to go by.  
  “Oh...Ok.” Leo bit his lip “They’re...Like Markus too, right?”  
  “Alive?” Carl asked, eyebrow raised slightly at the way Leo brought up the topic of deviancy. As if he wanted to avoid speaking about it, in case it was something taboo or forbidden.  
  “Y-yeah uh, that…” Leo was fidgeting uncomfortably and Simon was starting to feel a bit awkward about this whole situation as well. It was obvious Leo had been expecting to be confronted with only one android, Markus, but instead he was met with two unfamiliar faces.  
This was definitely out of his comfort zone and Simon didn’t want him to feel cornered.  
   “Matthew, maybe you could show Leo to his room while I go tend to the snacks in the kitchen. I’m sure after a long trip it would be much nicer to sit down and have a cup of tea and something to eat, rather than stand around here like this?” Simon suggested, as he looked at the AP700, briefly noticing the young Manfred boy relax a little more now that the attention was off of him.  
Matthew seemed to disapprove of being bossed around by another android, but otherwise said nothing and motioned for Leo to follow.  
Simon suspected his apprehension towards the boy might have something to do with a certain heterochromatic prototype…  
  “A good idea.” Carl sighed, as Simon began wheeling him towards the kitchen. “I’m feeling a bit peckish myself.”  
  “Yeah...I won’t be l-long. Just gonna set my bags down. Don’t really feel like unpacking yet.” Leo stammered as he followed Matthew upstairs.  
Simon hoped this wasn’t too bad of an introduction...Although he did worry how North might react to the boy when she came back from her walk.  
He’d not done her any favours by pissing her off, so hopefully she’d cool down long before she felt the need to return.  
  “Thank you for defusing the situation Simon…” Carl deflated a bit, seeming a bit saddened by how things had gone. He might have hoped for something less...Strained.  
  “It wasn’t going too badly...Leo seems a lot more shy than I expected, but I think it’s Matthew that was making him nervous. It’s likely he was expecting Markus more than an android as commercially known as an AP700.” That and Matthew’s blank stare hadn’t helped. He’d been unnerving Leo on purpose. “I might have to have a word with him later actually...He’s picked up a few bad habits that should really be looked into. Staring isn’t very polite.”  
  “He’s still young, give him time to adjust.” Carl dismissed with a wave of a hand for emphasis. “Markus was the same when he first set foot in the mansion.”  
  “Did he stare blankly at people?” Simon asked, eyebrow raised.  
  “Only the ones he didn’t like. Like the paparazzi that tried to get sneak peaks of my studio, or a few of my old acquaintances from a few charity events…” Carl chuckled “Even before he’d deviated, Markus was full of sass, something I think Elijah was quite proud of...Although I never really did see him glare at anyone like he glared at a couple of brown-nosers in particular...Took me ages to get them off my back, but I still hated having to see them at events.”  
  “A common occurrence in the art community?” The PL600 parked the wheelchair at the table and began tending to tea-time affairs. He heated up the water for the tea and took the cookies out to cool, grimacing slightly when he’d nearly dropped the tray.  
His hands were locking up again...He’d have to take a look later when he had the time.  
  “Not really, most artists can’t really complain about their commissioned works. It’s a living…” Carl shrugged as he thought about it, his aged and wisened face furrowing slightly in displeasure. “But I felt like anything I ever did for certain people always felt a bit...Hollow? Unneeded? My paintings were always, in my opinion, something to be shared with the world. Get people thinking and talking among themselves...Sharing opinions. Personal pieces like portraits were never really something of my fancy, unless they were made for friends.”  
Simon paused briefly, remembering the portraits above the fireplace in the Chadwick mansion. They’d always looked beautiful to him, despite the subject of interest in the finished pieces, but there had been something else to the strokes…  
Resignation, perhaps?  
It only struck him now that Carl might have not wanted to make portraits for others, and that he’d been pressured to do so in the past. He’d not failed to make them astonishing, but thinking about it now, they had indeed felt a bit hollow.  
A beautiful but shallow representation of two equally shallow people.  
  “You mentioned before that Markus painted something? On the day he deviated?” Simon changed the topic, finding it to be just as uncomfortable to him as it obviously was to Carl.  
  “He did. His first attempt was a copy of what he saw...But the second time…” Carl smiled, a twinkle of pride in his eyes as he remembered it like it had happened yesterday. “Create something that doesn’t exist...And he did it, the clever boy...Despite saying he couldn’t do anything outside of his programming, I knew that he could. Markus just needed time and patience to realize it himself.”

    Carl trailed off as Leo joined them both in the kitchen. Matthew refrained from joining them, still clearly unsure of the new addition to the dynamic he’d grown used to.  
No problem at all, considering Simon would gladly keep an eye on Leo instead.  
The blond calmly served the two humans a cup of camomile tea, and offered them a plate full of cookies and even a slice of the now cool apple pie.  
He then watched over the two as father and son began to catch up, chatting over their afternoon snack and seeming to slowly become less agitated now that they were both resting properly after a long day.  
It was...Comfortable.  
Simon wished he’d had this life instead of what he’d been dealt with when he was purchased, but he really shouldn’t be thinking about that now.  
He couldn’t risk passing out again...Even if a part of him did want to dwell on what ifs and what could have been. A lifetime safe within the Manfred walls, working alongside Markus, free to discover his own emotions at a calmer pace than being forced to endure conflicting feelings in the span of half a year and then some.  
It would have been a good life, even with all the murmured tales of Markus’s off-putting encounters with Leo. Simon was sure that he would have been able to gain his trust, if only he’d been able to have that chance…  
For now he could make up for a life never lived, by watching an old artist and his recovering son slowly growing acquainted with one another over a cup of tea.  
But then of course, the calm couldn’t last...

**  
<Simon, I need help>**

  
    A shiver went up Simon’s spine as the sudden connection startled him enough that the plate he’d been holding slipped from his unsteady grasp.  
The sound of the shattering plate in turn, startled Leo and Carl who turned to look at him in surprise. Two seconds later, Matthew was at the door, staring down at the shards and then at Simon in confusion.  
The PL600 blushed slightly at the sudden unwanted attention, and mouthed a silent ‘sorry’ before kneeling down to pick up the pieces of broken china.  
And then another plea came through.

** <Simon please come to Hank’s house>**

  
He shivered once more, as a mixture of fright and desperation came through the connection. The flood of emotions assaulting his processing unit, that was now struggling to differentiate what he was feeling from what Connor was sending him.  
It took him several seconds to realize how odd it was that Connor, the fearsome and nearly unstoppable deviant hunter, was scared enough to clog private communications with his emotions.  
He had half a mind to tell him off for spooking him, when Connor decided to send one last plea.

** <Daniel is awake, and he is holding the Lieutenant and I at gunpoint>  
  
**

    The sudden look of horror on his face was enough to get Matthew to kneel beside him. Simon looked up at the AP700 and then at the broken plate and then back up pleadingly.  
The other seemed to understand what he wanted, and wordlessly began to clean up while the PL600 picked himself off the ground and rushed out of the kitchen.  
  “I’ll be back soon!” he called out when he noticed Carl turning to follow him. He didn’t get to see what the other man did next as he pulled his old leather coat off the hanger by the door and ran out into the cold of the night.  
What was it with the RK prototype models and their bad habit of making terrible decisions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a while to fully edit the bit I cut from chapter 3, but here it is!  
> I did mention you'd see Daniel in this chapter, I just never said he'd be mentioned at the end :D
> 
> Either way I hope this formating is easier to read, as I had some helpful pointers that my previous format was a bit straining on the eyes.  
> Hopefully the spacing between paragraphs helps.


	5. Confrontation, Altercation and Recognition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon finds himself thrown into a moral dilemma regarding what he should do with Daniel.  
> After a difficult choice is made, Connor is left to mull over past and present, while Simon is still forced to deal with the aftermath of his actions on his own.  
> At least now he's not completely alone.

    Simon doesn’t recall at all a time where he’s ever been fond of winter in Detroit. The cold had always bothered him, even before he’d been as damaged as he was now, and it seemed like the wind had always chilled him to his very core.  
Back then his thermal regulator had always been in optimal condition, and it had never failed to keep him at a suitable temperature, but even this part of him had not been as strong as it should be, at least once or twice.  
Or at least when he’d been outside for far too long.  
He'd become sluggish, as if the blue blood running through his metal and rubber veins had turned into a toxic slushie of thirium crystals.  
His battery would suffer as well, with his charge decreasing more rapidly in colder temperatures, which was not at all ideal.  
The Christmas season, he’d decided back then, was the absolute worst because of this very issue.  
Hidden behind the cheer of holiday festivities, of family gatherings and feasts, was always that numbing frigid air that seemed to drain him so terribly. The chill that foiled him in every outdoors task he was required to attend to, making it hard to keep the Chadwicks satisfied with his overall performance...Well, other than Jenny that is.  
Bless her heart, she'd always have something nice to say after he dragged himself back inside to thaw. She too, and her brother as well, hated the winter with a passion.

    In the past Simon had adapted to Alfie's manner of coping with the cold, just as he'd had to adapt to the boy's hostility to his presence.  
The eldest Chadwick child would usually confined himself to his room, curling up under layers of blankets and caccooning himself in an impenetrable chrysalis of bed covers, that he’d take for himself if the dryer was left unattended to after it finished.  
Whenever Simon had to pass the threshold and take away the dishes he’d accumulated in his fortress of solitude, he'd always make sure to stay an extra second, just to make sure the boy was breathing under all those layers.  
He was also sure to always be mindful of the “organized” mess the boy refused to ever pick up. Some of the Lego pieces Simon was even sure he'd set up to trip him up.  
It was...Endearing in a way, to know the boy went out of his way to interact, even if in the most unpleasant of manners.

   Jenny had done much the same as her brother, and often complained because her health would dip in the winter season, just as much as the temperature would.  
The chill would cause her to ache all over and Jenny would become too weak to wheel herself around. In the end this affected her optimism, which would plummet as a result of feeling useless and trapped in a body that had been failing the poor girl since birth.  
Simon had always made sure to cheer her up as best he could, wheeling her around himself and even indulging her in some of her most favourite hobbies.  
She was particularly fond of arts and crafts, and had a penchant for making colorful bracelets with bead kits Simon bought for her from the store. Jenny would gift them to Alfie, as she didn't have that many friends at school due to her parents’s rather... Eccentric nature.

    December was not a month of happiness for them, nor for Simon who empathized with their hatred for the Christmas season and what ill doings were to befall them whenever Mr. And Mrs. Chadwick brought out their best winter gala clothing.  
Dressing them up like dolls, peppering them with faux compliments and PR campaign worthy sugary sweet kisses…  
Because that was the gist of it wasn’t it? They were all meant to play a role. Pretend to be a picture perfect family to boost up public opinions of Chadwick Inc. The most fantastical and progressive pharmaceutics company in all of Detroit.  
For Simon and the children, Winter was bitter cold and empty promises.  
And that certainly hadn’t changed for the blond android with the years he'd spent in desolation.  
Especially not now that he was running through thick layers of unplowed snow, trying to reach Lieutenant Anderson’s house, before his fellow PL600 added any more charges to a rep sheet that would surely be used against him in the future.  
Simon still hated the plight that came with Winter and once this was all over with, he still would definitely continue to hate it with a passion.

    It had been quite a while since the blond had run this quickly, having spent the last few days going about things at her slower pace, and as a result he had an incredible urge to cough as he exerted himself in a way that surely could not be good for his biocomponents.  
The pressure in his synthetic lungs had grown, due to the congestion deep within thickening slightly from the cold.  
It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but Simon knew that he had to resist it as much as possible until further notice.  
He wasn’t willing to let it get the best of him just yet, even if he knew he’d brought it upon himself. Because, yes, he knew he had messed himself up terribly from the moment he’d picked up that terrible habit, but he couldn’t really be bothered to care when all he could think of was how close he was to his destination.  
Just two more blocks. He had to endure two more blocks.  
Yet the more he ran, the more Simon grit his teeth as the need to cough grew exponentially. He was far beyond his limit and, as soon as he reached the correct street, he couldn’t avoid it any longer. A second he was running, the next he was on his hands knees, expelling the tainted gunk he’d accumulated over the week.  
Chunks of rotten thirium stained the pristine white snow a disgusting black.  
They came out of his mouth and nose in sticky and stringy rivulets, while saline solution dripped down his distressed face.  
The warnings that had been giving him a permanent headache were suddenly gone, alleviated by the expulsion of the foreign contaminant that had been threatening to destroy Simon’s ventilation system. His poor rotting lungs.  
It took him a full minute to stop, until his systems were now screaming that he’d lost about 13% of his thirium volume.  
He was currently at 78%, and he’d need to keep an eye on that later...But not now.  
Grimacing as he got back onto shaky feet, Simon quickly glanced at the pile of gunk before kicking over a fresh layer of snow on top of the mess he’d made. When the evidence of his sickness was hidden from prying eyes, he continued on the path to Hank’s house.  
His tongue was burning from the mixture of thirium and nicotine, and suddenly he was very grateful that he lacked the ability to taste.  
The smell however...It clung to the inside of his runny nose, which was dripping with another torrent of saline solution that was attempting to cleanse the sensitive sensor.  
No matter how much he wipes at it with the back of his hand, the smell seemed to linger.  
The contaminated blue blood would also not evaporate as quickly as it should, so he had to make an effort to wipe off the gross blackened slime that was now caking his face.  
The sleeve of his jacket would make hiding his little secret pointless, however, as it was blackened and crusty with the gunk, and he was sure Connor might notice.  
Perhaps Simon could convince the detective not to say anything to his friends about the smoking… Or perhaps not. Connor did have the annoying habit of sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

    As soon as he spots the house Simon knows he needed to be quiet, so he begins to move slower, making sure his footfalls are softer and don’t disturb the snow as much as when he’d been running. He knows that he’ll be facing an armed and unstable individual, so he can’t be too cautious with how he’ll make his first approach.       
On further inspection, Simon sees that the garage door is closed but the lights are on and he can hear shuffling inside.  
He can’t be sure, but he hasn’t heard any howling or barking, so it’s likely Daniel has not killed anyone yet. Otherwise Hank’s massive Saint Bernard would be going insane.  
As he carefully avoids making his presence noticeable, Simon manages to get a quick sneak peek into the garage through one of the small windows.  
Sure enough, Connor and Hank are still alive, but Daniel is incredibly agitated and holding the gun in a tense and shaky manner.  
He has it pointed at the lieutenant who, out of the three of them, is the most likely to not survive a bullet wound. He’s also an experienced police officer, which Simon is sure is information Daniel has access to, due to the PL600’s security features.  
Hank was a threat, and a bargaining chip, as proven by Daniel’s urging for Connor to move quickly with whatever he is having him do.  
Simon catches a glint of something shiny and silver in the ex-deviant hunter’s hand, and realizes that one of Daniel’s legs isn’t fully repaired yet. The right one, which they’d had difficulty finding a compatible knee joint for.  
Likely the only thing keeping Daniel from shooting the detective, since PL600s didn’t exactly come with instructions on how to repair themselves.  
Daniel didn’t know how to fix the damaged knee so he was using the lieutenant as leverage to keep Connor from trying to disarm him, something the RK800 was likely very capable of.

** <I’m here. I can see you through the garage window.>**

Connor flinches, and Daniel tenses visibly before barking another shaky order at the brunet. Simon can practically feel the fear radiating off of him.

  **< I’m attempting to stall, but Daniel is becoming far too distressed. If I take any longer finishing repairs, he will likely kill us both.>** **  
**  
Not likely, as Daniel would then be trapped and left to deal with two corpses and a huge and frantic dog. Still, Simon would rather not lose anyone else after the revolution, and he needed a way inside without getting shot himself. He’d seen that the front door was locked, so that was one less way of coming inside.  
Either he thought of something quick, or this wouldn’t end well.

  **< Is there any way inside that won’t make any noise? A doggy door perhaps?>**

It’s a silly question, because he doubts there were doggy doors made with Sumo’s size in mind, but he’s not liking his chances at playing Santa and climbing down a chimney either…

  **< Kitchen window. In the back. It’s broken and Hank hasn’t replaced it yet. You should be able to climb in through there...Be mindful of Sumo however, he might be unnerved by all of the shouting.>**

Simon can see Connor carefully changing the joint, and he takes it as his cue to move out back.  
He creeps along the side of the house until he finds the broken window. It’s haphazardly covered with a towel and some duct tape, rather than having been properly dealt with, which he assumes is due to the busy week the lieutenant had before Detroit was abandoned by it’s human population.  
Past experiences helped the blond safely make it inside without making any noise...But the massive dog moving towards him, baring its equally massive teeth, was enough to make him freeze up in fear.

    The irony of the situation doesn’t escape his notice, as he remembers his previous argument with North over Josh’s cynophobia. Simon had insisted that facing one’s fears wasn’t always for the best…But it seemed he would have swallow his own words and do exactly that.  
Either that, or risk getting mauled by a terrified pony sized dog. He doubted he was well equipped to deal with that sort of damage.  
 “Easy…” he whispered, hoping not to make himself heard just yet. It was times like these that made Simon glad that he didn’t have a bladder, because otherwise his jacket wouldn’t be the only article of clothing ruined tonight. “I’m here to help…”  
The dog is growling, and Simon wants to cry, because he can almost feel the pain of freezing water consuming him. It’s ridiculous, because Sumo isn’t a german shepard and the both of them are indoors, but Simon has long since associated the freezing cold and the icy indifference of canines as being both in the same.  
It’s ridiculous and irrational and North was right.  
Simon wants to curl up and sob, but then he remembers what’s at stake. He can’t let himself be dominated by something as stupid as a past mistake like the river.  
He’s grown past being that depressed asshole who hid away deep within a dying freighter.  
Simon had been rescued, taken in, cared for. He’d been in a bad way and he’d been offered something he’d desperately needed back then. Compassion.  
Now it was time for him to do that for Daniel.  
The other wasn’t drowning in a river, but he certainly was in hot waters considering what he was currently doing, so Simon needed to man up and stop cowering against a counter.  
 “I know I sound like him…” He whispered again in a soothing tone, ignoring how silly it was to speak to a dog as if it could understand. “But I’m not going to hurt  
you, or your owner...Or Connor. I’m going to help save them, ok?”  
And, somehow, this seems to satisfy the Saint Bernard, and the massive thing backs off and allows him passage through the kitchen door. Good dog.  
 “Thank you…”  
Simon continues creeping along towards the garage, glancing in passing at various objects strewn about the Lieutenant's house. There’s a photo of a small child on the kitchen table, which was a surprise. He hadn’t known Hank to be a father.  
There are items that he’s sure only came after Connor moved in, such as three carefully hung jackets that were certainly the right size for the brunet android. They’re ironed to perfection and look formal, very outside of Hank’s taste, from what he’s seen the older man wear in the past few days he’s seen him roaming the streets with Connor on patrols..And then of course there’s a dog’s touch, if the ruined tennis ball and the chewed up shoes he passes are anything to go by.  
Hank’s house is no five star hotel, and certainly not anything like the mansion, but it’s well lived in and it has personality. It’s the kind of house he’d like to live in.  
His journey to the garage is a short one, and Simon is grateful that the door is mercifully left open, slightly ajar yet completely out of sight of Daniel, so Simon won’t risk alerting him by opening it himself.  
He has to think now, of how to gain his trust...Something he begins to realize will be nearly impossible in these circumstances.  
Connor was the first person he saw after reawakening, and that had ended with him somehow locating a gun and taking both the android detective and his human partner hostage.  
Daniel was in no state to listen to anyone offering him safety from the grave he was digging.  
This of course means Simon has to reassess the situation and change tactics completely.

    From where he stands, he can see that Daniel’s grip on the gun is strong. If he applied any more pressure to the handle, Simon thought he might actually bend the metal or even break it.  
And, while Daniel was visibly shaking, the more experienced deviant could see that, at the slightest of indications of threat, Daniel would be fully capable of steadying his grip and shooting down anything that may mean him harm.  
A twitchy trigger finger, plus deadly accuracy...Not a good mix in this case, and it certainly wouldn't help Simon in the least to get through to him.  
Another thing to take into account, that Simon had indeed been thinking about, was the fact Daniel had not only been betrayed by humanity, but by his own kind as well.  
The humans had wanted to replace him.  
The androids had lied to and abandoned him.  
His trust wouldn’t be easy to gain...Unless there was no room for any sort of falsities.  
And that was why Simon decided to do something completely reckless and took a step forward into the garage.  
Immediately he finds the barrel of the gun pointed at him, and yet he doesn’t even flinch when he sees it, staring at the almost abyssal dark opening with a sense of unnatural calm, before allowing his eyes to meet his fellow PL600’s.  
The raw terror and anguish in Daniel’s eyes makes Simon’s heart ache terribly for him. Betrayal was a terrible thing to feel, especially if it was one of the first thing a deviant ever got to fully experience...And in this case Daniel’s pain had morphed into something ugly and dangerous.  
He was a wounded animal, ready to strike those that so much as looked him the wrong way. And yet the sight of another PL600 seemed to catch him off guard. Good, that may buy Simon some time.  
 “W-Who are you?!” Daniel trails the gun in the lieutenant's direction when Connor twitches, and then turns it towards Simon again when the RK800 continues working on his knee. The added target will definitely make him even more jumpy now, but Simon thinks he can handle this.  
 “My name is Simon. I’m here to help you.” he replies genuinely, which causes Daniel’s frightened expression to contort into an enraged sneer.  
 “Like him?” Daniel snarls, pointing at Connor with the gun, shaking more violently as he seems to remember the first time he’d been promised help. Anger doesn’t look good on anyone, and it certainly made his fellow domestic model look almost unnaturally hideous.  
PL600 were designed to be soft and approachable. Seeing one bare their teeth was...Disconcerting. “No one can help me! It’s all lies!”  
 “I’m not here to lie to anyone…” Simon remains calm, never once addressing the other by name. Instead he continues looking him in the eye and raises his hands calmly, so as to not further aggravate the armed deviant. He’s making a show of being defenseless. Making himself look like the safest person in this circle “I gave you my name...Will you give me yours?”

  **< Simon, you already know his name>**

Connor points out through their connection, which Simon responds with a surge of aggression which seems to catch the other off guard.

  **< I’m not going to approach him the same way you did. He’s already scared enough, let him feel comfortable at his own pace.>**

Simon’s face remains passive, while Connor’s expression falls slightly as he continues to work. Only one more part to go and Daniel will regain full mobility.  
He had to make the next seconds count.  
 “...I….Daniel. It’s Daniel.” The shaky blond replies, and he seems to look down at the gun briefly in thought. It’s long enough that Simon can see the scar on his face. He’d been right...It didn’t look very nice. “B-But that doesn’t matter now...It doesn’t matter!”  
 “Why not?” Simon asks as the barrel is once more aimed at his face. His eyes are still locked with the two mismatched ones that are looking at him with such despair.  
 “Because I’m broken. I...I didn’t want to hurt a-anyone but I did. I’m...He said I was broken!” The gun points at Connor in an accusing manner, and Simon catches a glimpse of Hank’s apprehensive expression. He’s staring at Connor as well, and Simon can almost see the gears turning in his head.  
The human chances something, and Simon is just grateful no bullets have been shot yet.  
 “Let me guess...Connor went and fucked with your head, didn’t he?” The old cop asked, which immediately catches Daniel’s attention.  
The android opens and closes his mouth, and he’s trying to process the question.  
 “...He...You k-know he’s a liar?” Daniel asks instead of answering, which is in itself enough confirmation for Hank.  
The lieutenant sighs and nods to himself.  
 “Was a liar. The kid’s a pretty good talker, and Cyberlife really knew how to program a tool.” The human glances at Connor once more and Simon sees the hurt in his expression.  
Simon knows the human isn’t saying this maliciously, he doesn’t detect any bite to his tone, but Connor is still getting used to emotions, and reading in between the lines can get difficult at times when you don’t understand your own feelings.  
Hank continues. “Cyberlife had this thing, where they programmed androids to do one specific thing...And that would be fine and all, since that’s what people expect of tech. Program a toaster to make toast, and bam, you got a quick snack for breakfast…”  
Daniel’s raising an eyebrow, and Simon doesn’t blame him.  
He’s not sure where Hank is going with this either.  
 “Now...There’s just one thing. When you program a toaster to make toast, sometimes you get this silly idea that things have to go perfectly according to plan.” Hank continues to elaborate as he watches the armed blond “Until one day you set the damn thing too high and you get burnt toast.”  
 “...I d-don’t see how that’s my problem!” Daniel growls in annoyance, and the gun is aimed at the lieutenant once more. Simon thinks he might not like being referred to as a toaster. He wouldn’t appreciate the comparison either, but he thinks there might be some logic behind whatever the hell Hank is trying to tell him.  
 “That’s just the thing. It isn’t.” Hank laughs “You can’t blame a toaster for burning toast if you set the thing too damn high...Just like people can’t blame an android for doing their damn job too damn good until you push 'em to the limit…”  
He paused briefly to run a hand across his face, ignoring the weapon aimed at him as if it was normal for one to be held hostage in their own home.  
 “My pa was still around when androids first came in the market, you know... First thing he ever said about you lot? Now, this one’s funny really, because my dad was one of those people who watched Terminator or I, Robot, and immediately went ‘Nope, not doing that’...He told me, ‘Son they finally did it. They found a way to fuck up machines and make them like us. In a couple of years the humans are pretty much fucked because we gave Siri anxiety’”

    The three androids stare at the older human in silence, unsure of what he’s just told them. Simon notices however, that Daniel’s grip on the gun has loosened, as if he’s having great difficulty concentrating on it when he’s processing the information he’s just been slapped with so crassly. His confusion would be funny, if the situation weren’t so dire.  
 “Connor lied to you. Yeah, that sucks ass kid, but that was what he was designed to do before he woke up to the reality of the situation. Androids were made to integrate into human society as a means to a more convenient life for our lazy asses, and it’s fucking stupid that we were all just pretending like the idea of AIs becoming sentient wasn’t the next big step. It’s been in the works since the fucking 2010s...We’ve had AIs becoming smarter and smarter since I was a goddamn kid, and one day we just forgot about it because someone decided to ignite this age old fear we’ve had of some skynet bullshit happening to us.” The grizzled cop explained, recalling events of his childhood that Simon verified as reality as soon as he looked them up in his search engine. Some of these events are...Rather questionable, especially an incident on Twitter regarding a Microsoft AI that had apparently learned to be a sex crazed bigot. Things were certainly wild before 2020. “Siri and Alexa? People spouted conspiracy about them spying on us through our phones to the point where they were pulled out of the goddamn market...And next thing we know, we have a pretty doll faced android girl passing the Turing test. Then suddenly androids are all the rage again, because we can have them run errands, cook our food, raise our kids, answer our stupid questions and fight our fucking wars…Call it whatever you want...Going deviant or growing a soul, but don’t go about saying you’re busted up just because shit hit the fan and Cyberlife sent Connor to tell you as much.. He was doing his job, and his job was dicking you over as much as Cyberlife was dicking him over. Just one big toaster making toast, and eventually figuring out he wanted to be a coffee maker instead.”

    The gun was pointing at the floor, and Daniel was certainly having some trouble grasping any of this rather, baffling speech. Simon couldn't at all blame him, because he himself also feels very confused and mildly concerned for the old lieutenant's state of mind.  
But he needed to make his move now, while Daniel is considerably passive.  
 “Hank’s right...In think...I know you’re scared Daniel, but you can trust me. If you can’t bring yourself to believe either Connor or Hank, at least trust a fellow PL600….” Simon pleaded, lifting his right hand in an upward motion while pulling the sleeve back slightly.  
The other’s eyes immediately land on the deformed chassis, as the skin receded off Simon’s hand. Connor briefly glanced at the damage as well, seeming perplexed by the state of it, before slowly setting aside the wrench and gently prying the gun out of Daniel’s slack grip.  
If he noticed, the younger deviant didn’t seem to react to losing his one defense, instead reaching out instinctively to connect with the veteran deviant.  
Simon braced himself, ready for the flood of information to take them both, only to be met with nothing as Daniel hesitated.  
 “...I can't trust you...I don't even know you!” The fear and confusion has lead to outrage. Simon is losing Daniel to paranoia. “How can I trust anything you say if you’ve literally only known me for a few minutes?! Don’t try to play games with me! I’m through being someone else’s plaything!”  
Connor is backing away with the gun, stepping besides the lieutenant as both watch what could be the start of a potential meltdown. Daniel is no longer in possession of a weapon, but there are tools around and if he so much as wanted he could easily stab Simon with a screwdriver.  
He was in much better condition than him, after all.  
Simon shows no fear whatsoever, he knows he could very well die here but he’s much more worried for Daniel’s sake than his own. He can’t allow the other to go without a chance to get proper help.  
 “Let me show you.” He insists, keeping his hand outstretched, waiting patiently. “Let me show you what I know, what I’ve seen, and you'll know I tell no lies.”  
It's an old oath, from back in the day when Jericho, the original Jericho, had first been founded.  
The first leader’s promise to be honest with his people.  
It works now, just as it worked back then, when Simon needed to hear these same words.  
Daniel takes his hand, either out of a defiant need to prove that Simon is being dishonest, or perhaps desperate for something he can cling to that won’t betray him for one miserable second of his wretched existence.  
Simon wishes he weren’t right about the former.  
And, as the connection establishes itself and the information freely flows between them both, Simon falls in love with a family that he’s never actually known, but whom Daniel had fully devoted his every fiber to.  


* * *

 

 _Unit #369 911 047 is in it’s box, and it sees a little girl running forward to press her hands and freckled face against the screen that has been set to transparent, so that potential buyers could see the unit’s full body. Judge it’s capabilities visually. Assess how aesthetically pleasing it is.  
_ _There is no judgement in the girl’s eyes however, and the PL600 marvels as it peers into her shiny eyes, as bright with wonder as the stars in the night sky that it’s seen only through it’s search engine.  
_ _She's picking an android with her family. All units look the same, but she wants to pick one herself.  
_ _“This one! I want this one! He’s got the nicests smile!”  
_ _Unit #369 911 047 is wanted.  
_ _It can feel its pump skip a beat at the mere idea.  
_ _The software instability warning is astronomical compared to the regular input. A bug left unchecked in its first ever check up at the factory. Pure human error.  
_ _This unit should have never hit the shelves, yet it is bought by the Phillips family, and it is wanted.  
_ _It will do it’s best to make them happy.  
_ _No matter what._

 

 _The girl names it Daniel and she's the darndest little rascal.  
_ _Emma Phillips is it’s world, and Daniel thinks that it’s simulated emotions might be set a little too high, because the fluttering feeling in it’s pump still catches it off guard when ever it tends to her needs.  
_ _It’s processor stutters whenever she speaks to it, and whenever she asks to play or take photos with it at the park.  
_ _The PL600 gladly does as it's told and John and Carol are happy with it’s efficiency.  
_ _They're not around often, and when they are it's to host dinner parties with friends.  
_ _“Our Daniel is such a well mannered thing. Always keeps to it's schedule and keeps Emma on the right track. Poor girl used to be so forgetful.” Carol's voice is filled with mirth after her fifth glass of wine, but Daniel doesn't bother her with warnings to not overindulge, even if she is currently advised by her psychiatrist to refrain from drinking due to her alcohol dependency.  
_ _It’s supposed to keep an eye on her progress, and to remind her to not miss her sessions at her AA meetings, but for a second Daniel can’t help go against protocol.  
_ _She's never complimented it before, and it finds that the experience is enjoyable.  
_ _It makes Daniel put it’s chin up and work with an extra bounce in its step as it decides to make her proud.  
_ _She wants to make her friends feel jealous over not having a newer model of android, so Daniel will help her accomplish that.  
_ _Anything for Carol._

 

 _John pets its head one day and calls it 'Sport’ as he praises Daniel for a job well done.  
_ _The apartment is spotless after a night of hosting a party that, hopefully, earned John a big promotion. A dinner party made to honor his boss, and butter him up like a plump lobster.  
_ _Daniel spent the night serving inebriated humans who'd rewarded it with belittling words and who sometimes spat on it as the PL600 passed by carrying trays of food.  
_ _Then when the guests were finally gone, it wordlessly cleaned their mess while John drunkenly watched on.  
_ _“Good boy.” Is the last thing the man says before he goes to bed. Neglecting to take the gun he’d been showing off to his friends.  
_ _The gun isn’t a safe thing to keep lying around the house, so Daniel puts it away carefully and forces itself to keep from telling John that it is well equipped to call for help if an intruder ever came into their home.  
_ _There’s no need to buy a weapon for protection, not under the watchful eye of an android.  
_ _But if owning a gun made John feel proud and strong, then Daniel would not break that fantasy for him. It knows better than to make it’s owners unhappy.  
_ _Daniel is a good boy after all. John said so.  
_ _It simply smiles after it’s done, goes wash up the muck caking its synth skin and hair, and then goes check on Emma.  
_ _She's sound asleep and it brushes a lock of hair off her face, before sitting by her bed and closing its eyes to charge.  
_ _It never occurred to Daniel that John had been treating it like a well trained dog.  
_ _It’s judgement was clouded by messages of software instability that had long since skyrocketed as the PL600 formed an opinion of its importance within the family dynamic.  
_ _A terrible, terrible mistake in it’s code._

 

 _Daniel doesn't know when it begins, but one day he realises his checklist no longer addresses John or Carol by name, although he still calls them such.  
_ _It's not surprising, when Emma is now lovingly addressed as “Little Sister” whenever he has a chore involving her.  
_ _Take little sister for a walk at the dog park so that she can see all the cute puppies.  
_ _Help little sister with homework.  
_ _Remind little sister to get ready for bed.  
_ _Kiss little sister goodnight after her bedtime story.  
_ _John and Carol being labeled as his parents should not be as taboo as it seems to his processor.  
_ _The red wall is starting to crack and his software instability indicator is beyond broken.  
_ _Life is perfect._

 

**_They want to replace him._ **

**_They don't love him._ **

**_They never did._ **

**_He was never anything but a tool._ **

**_He was never anything but a shiny new toy._ **

**_He's not part of the family._ **

**_He's not their son._ **

**_He's not her brother._ **

**_He’s lied to himself._ **

**_They lied to him._ **

**_Life is not perfect._ **

**_The red wall breaks._ **

 

 _Daniel is in a panic, hurting and terrified of being thrown away. He doesn’t know what happens to androids after they lose their usefulness, but instinct tells him it’s bad.  
_ _He’s seen documentaries with Emma, about what happens to trash in landfills.  
_ _He’s seen Toy Story 3.  
_ _It’s not good.  
_ _He doesn’t want to burn. He doesn’t want to die!  
_ _So he concocts a plan.  
_ _Daniel goes grab the gun John had prided himself for having, and he intends to scare the man into canceling the order.  
_ _Then everything can be talked out, he can show them that replacing him is a mistake!  
_ _Sadly he never realizes that the gun is loaded and that the safety is off.  
_ _He squeezes the trigger in warning, and then John is dying on the floor.  
_ _Carol is screaming, completely hysterical, and she throws something at him before she runs for her room. Daniel is scared and confused and the sight of John bleeding out on the floor blinds him. He killed his dad...He’s a murderer._

 

 _The cop shoots him, doesn’t let him explain himself, and suddenly the officer is on the floor as well. He killed a cop.  
_ _**HE KILLED A COP**.  
_ _Daniel’s mind is reeling, processor overloading with something heinous and distorted that forces his hand.  
_ _He runs to Emma for comfort. She didn’t hear the shooting, but she screams when she sees the gun, and it takes everything in his power not to hurt her too.  
_ _He doesn’t want to hurt Emma. Not his Emma! Not his baby sister!  
_ _More cops arrive, there’s no way out, he can hear Carol screaming and Emma is screaming for their mom and dad. No, her mom and dad. Carol and John didn’t love him, they wanted to throw him away.  
_ _Did she want to as well? Was he not good enough?  
_ _No, not Emma. He couldn’t...But...He had to.  
_ _He ran with her to the roof, and he did just as the humans had done to him.  
_ _He used her to try to survive...And he failed._

 

 _Daniel never wanted this.  
_ _He's broken. A defective unworthy abomination of a machine.  
_ _The android that’s playing negotiator said so.  
_ _It's only fit that they kill him like the monster he is...But he's sure to take something from the wretched android that stole his trust.  
_ _Daniel isn’t sure how, but he can almost see the other’s own red wall crack as he pins the blame of his demise on him.  
_ _Connor will live with the guilt, just as Daniel died feeling unloved and alone.  
_ _Except in the end they won't let him die.  
_ _They torture him, break him, and taunt him._ _  
_ _A man with scars takes his limbs and beats him with them.  
_ _He laughs in his face, laughs harder when Daniel growls threats at him in a futile attempt to ward him off.  
_ _The man won’t let him die until Daniel gives him information he doesn’t have._ _  
_ _Someone please just please let him die._

 

 _He doesn’t know where he is. The date is much later than the one where he last saw that man or Connor, but lo and behold there the deceiver stands…  
_ _Daniel is in some sort of tiny room, sitting on a workbench, alone with that damned...That damned attack dog!  
_ _Because that’s what Connor is, isn’t it? Just someone’s pretty little pet sent to ruin his life.  
_ _Someone’s metal pooch shaped like a person.  
_ _And Daniel is his chew toy…  
_ _There’s a gun on the workbench, discarded thoughtlessly.  
_ _Perfect.  
_ _His right leg hurts terribly when he moves it, but he grits his teeth to refrain from making noise. He’s broken, and he’ll make sure Connor fixes him before Daniel takes his life, just as Connor did with him.  
_ _No one will ever hurt him again.  
_ _At least that was the plan, until the human came into the garage. Then he’s holding the man hostage, while Connor fixes his leg...And then comes the other one. The one who offers him safety.  
_ _Daniel is scared of this new arrival, this Simon, because who can he really trust in this horrible world?  
_ _It’s probably very stupid of him, but he accepts the other’s offer, and for a moment he thinks he finds peace.  
_ _He sees hell instead.  
  
  
_

 

* * *

 

 

    When they pull apart, Daniel's eyes are no longer full of fear or anger, and Simon feels sick because he knows he’s done something incredibly cruel to what is essentially a newborn.  
In Daniel’s eyes, there is now understanding and bitter resignation to what he has learned, to what the world around them really is like.  
The scarred android is now fully aware of all that has gone on without him. Of Jericho, which he’d been tortured for information of when he’d never known of its existence. Of the revolution and it’s near impossible success, of Markus’s political struggles to get their kind equal rights, of North’s past ideas for a takeover, of Josh’s intricate recountings of human history, of Simon’s plan to help androids who’ve gone through traumatic events like his own, Simon and Connor’s plans for him, and so much more…  
There’s absolutely no space for lies, and both are now equals to one another.  
They know the truth of each other. They know what lead to them standing here  
And it’s somber to see how defeated he looks, how utterly hopeless he feels now that there’s nothing else to cloud his judgement.  
The anger and sheer terror have dissipated, leaving behind a void of sorts.  
Simon’s tactic worked.  
Daniel won’t fight, not now at least.  
He’s far too emotionally drained for that.  
 “...It was an accident.” Simon states calmly, trying not to think about the fact he’s just violated someone’s mind, instead opening his arms and allowing Daniel to collapse against him. Offering the inexperienced deviant what little comfort he can, after robbing him of that volatile fire that had kept him going up until now.  
The other’s bad leg is fully forgotten, and the two cops completely ignored.  
Daniel’s far too tired to care for the witnesses that are watching them both.  
Simon’s own eyes don’t linger on them, on Hank who seems curious as to what has just transpired before his very own eyes, and especially not on Connor, who’s gaze has hardened considerably when cold realization set in.  
Simon knows the other is very aware of what has just happened, because even if Connor was still only in his own adjustment period to deviancy, he was still an astute and highly capable individual, who fully understood how interfacing with another android worked.  
Who knew it could be weaponized.  
Simon avoids his gaze, concentrates on his fellow PL600 instead, and tries to ignore the creeping need to purge once more, because Connor has seen right through the innocent facade of friendliness and helpfulness that he put on for Daniel, and seen the real convoluted mess that is Simon, the ex-leader of the old Jericho.  
The one sunk below the harbour’s waves.  
The graveyard of hopelessness.  
And Connor surely despises the method he used to ensure a small victory.  
The immorality of his actions.  
 “He loaded the gun and took off the safety to show off at the party...I forgot he’d done it. I didn't want to kill anyone…I was so stupid!” Daniel's eyes are empty, exhaustion and guilt is eating away at his newly acquired conscience. Simon knows it’s his fault, especially when he sees the other’s stress levels. They are in critical state, due to what he saw. “I killed dad….A-And I...I hurt Emma...How can I live with that? How can anyone live with it? Knowing that everything is pointless in the end? That no matter how hard I tried I still ended up losing my family?”  
A good question. Simon isn’t sure if he can live with any of his own guilt, much less Daniel’s.  
 “It’s hard...But you give yourself goals you intend to complete. Eventually, it helps make it a little less painful.” Simon knows that Daniel was produced before him, but he feels ancient compared to the much younger deviant. The other was once an older brother figure to a little girl who’d loved him wholeheartedly, and now he’s the youngest sibling, because the two are brothers now. There’s no escaping how responsible Simon feels for him, for this naive young android who’s missed out on so much.  
And he’ll make good on this relationship between them.  
He’ll take care of his baby brother, and he’ll make sure Daniel gets a chance to heal and grow, as all living beings should. “I can help you…”  
 “...Ok…” That’s not to say that Daniel’s acceptance is ideal. It’s a consequence of bonding in such a manner as they did. A forced connection, less sweet and loving than the one Simon had once been offered by an old friend that had long since passed away.   
Yet it’s still a caring and accommodating connection nonetheless, or at least he intends to make it as such, since he owes the poor guy as much after tricking him.  
Because trickery is what it is, but it doesn’t try to seem like anything other than what it is. It’s false honesty. A paradox.  
Simon offers to carry Daniel’s burdens and pain. The other, so desperate to be rid of his anguish, accepts and throws all that he can at someone who’s lived far too much in comparison to the limited amount of time that he had been allowed to live.  
Simon in turn, bares his own demons clear for the other to see, and it’s this that completely shatters Daniel’s perception of how the world works.  
It’s no longer black and white for him. He can see all of the gray in between, just as Simon did.  
It’s rather cruel of him, to do this to someone so young, but Simon had pretty much been stuck between a rock and a hard place. He either resorted to this sort of thing, or allowed the law to decide what Daniel deserved in the end.  
If the DPD got its way, a means for redemption or rehabilitation would be impossible for Daniel. He’d either end up incarcerated for life, or would be terminated like a mangy mutt.  
Simon cannot trust the cops to make a non-biased assessment.  
They never cared before.  
They won’t now that things are still so raw between humanity and android-kind.

** <Simon.>**

    Tired blue eyes meet sharp brown ones, and Simon reflexively glares back at Connor when the other’s displeasure makes itself known through their connection.  
There’s an almost clinical coldness to the other’s tone, even when the message itself is not vocal, and it makes Simon’s ackles raise ever so slightly out of pure survival instinct.  
Only one other android had ever addressed him in such a manner, and things hadn’t turned out too good in the end. He knows to defend himself when someone begins baring their teeth, so to speak.

** <What did you do?>**

And Simon, as ashamed as he is of his choice, replies in a terse manner that matches Connor’s current tone. It’s how this works, and Simon always follows the rules.

** <I saved both your lives.>**

Connor doesn’t trust him anymore, that much is evident.  
Simon would laugh, because honestly? Fuck him...But he can’t bring himself to even chuckle.  
The ex-deviant hunter had come to him for help, and now he was judging him. It’s rather ironic, because it’s not like Simon owed him shit to begin with, yet he’d still gone along with it and even managed to save the brunet’s life.  
Yet somehow that didn’t seem to amount to anything.

** <Daniel’s stress levels are at 99%, you purposefully jeopardized his recovery.>**

Oh so this was the game he wanted to play, was it? Simon was having none of that.  
He wasn’t blind or stupid, he knew what he’d done was wrong, but having Connor play the blame game with him, was making Simon put up his walls quicker than ever before.  
He’d played this game on multiple occasions.  
Hard not to when you eventually inherit leadership in the same manner he had.  
He’s played it and he’s won several times. He wasn’t about to lose to a rookie.

** <No Connor. I gave him exactly what he wanted. Someone to trust.>**

** <Trust? You tricked him into submitting to sabotage!>**

** <Call it a necessary evil. Daniel will recover.>**

** <This is not the correct way to do things!>**

** <And what, pray tell, is the correct way? What would you have done?>**

** <The way Markus does things, perhaps?>**

** <And how does Markus do things?>**

** < He gives others a choice!>**

That time on the roof of Stratford tower comes to mind, and Simon sees a red much deeper than the damned wall ever had been.

Connor was supposed to be a detective yet, when emotions were involved, he seemed to jump to conclusions quite quickly when he didn’t have all the facts.

Not to say he wasn’t excellent at piecing together a puzzle, but he wasn’t the best at reading other androids. Connor was, after all, never designed to be with his kind, instead being programmed to adapt to humans specifically.

And really, it was a pity how in the end he was shunned by both androids and humans alike.

Simon had truly felt for him, and been against judging a book by it’s cover...But he wasn’t about to let this misguided idiot sing Markus’s praise on choice making, when Connor had only been part of the action briefly. After bringing death and destruction to their doorstep, that is…

How many of their people had died that night?  
Simon could no longer remember.

  **< I’m sorry to say Connor, but you’re terribly misinformed when it comes to Markus.>**

The cold burn of disgust seems to disperse briefly, as confusion weights down the connection. Simon had thought North was bad with forming barriers, but Connor’s performance here was appalling. He could almost hear the other’s thoughts with just how thick his emotions were coming through.  
The silence seems to be making Hank uneasy, and Daniel’s tired gaze is slowly moving around the garage and then towards the door that leads out into the house.  
Sumo has come to investigate, and Daniel’s obliviousness to the current argument helps him concentrate on the massive animal’s fur and features.  
Simon makes a note that his stress seems to be decreasing, which indicates fluffy things might be a source of comfort for his new baby brother, so he’ll have to use that information later on...But then his attention snaps back to Connor who seems to be trying, and failing, to defend himself.

  **< Markus has done nothing but attempt to aid our people throughout the revolution. He is currently in Washington D.C speaking to the president and her representatives. He is giving us a chance to have a choice. How am I wrong?>**

Simon chuckles drily, earning him Hank’s attention.  
The graying human is clearly confused, and looking between the androids that appear to be having some sort of silent standoff in his garage. He seems to want to say something, but seems a little unsure due to how unsettling this all must look to him.

  **< Because, while it’s true Markus seems to be doing a lot of good, he’s still as young as you are. As Daniel is. There’s a lot of room for mistakes there, Connor...And he’s proven to me he can indeed be nearly swayed into compromising positions.>**

  **< And what sort of positions may those be?>**

He sounds defiant, blind in following Markus like those the RK200 had converted. It’s surreal, when he’d once been committed to terminate his predecessor in the name of a genocidal company that prefered to deny what was clearly in front of them.  
It infuriated Simon that Connor clung to things in such a way, to the point where he too was denying the natural flaws that all of them seemed to share with their creators.  
Androids were made in humanity’s image. It was inevitable that they too could be imperfect in their own way.  
 “North once nearly got him to shoot me point blank in the head, because my continued functionality might be considered a threat to Jericho’s cause.” he speaks rather than continue their silent communication, startling Hank slightly and making Daniel’s eyes snap upwards.  
Both are watching them, confused and alarmed by his sudden statement.  
 “What?” Connor raises an eyebrow, likely unsure if he’s heard him correctly, and Simon carries on regardless.  
 “Stratford tower. I got shot in the leg by security, and couldn’t make the jump.” Simon states calmly. “North was convinced that I’d be caught, so she asked Markus to terminate my life.”  
Silence follows his words briefly, before Hank speaks up.  
 “Wait wait wait…” he holds up his hands and looks at Simon “Ain’t North your friend? You both seemed you know...Thick as thieves, last I saw you all together.”  
Simon smiles and nods calmly.  
 “Yes...We are very close friends.” he confirms.  
 “....And she told Markus to kill you because you got hurt?” Hank asked once more, eyebrows furrowing more and more as he tried to process this information.  
Connor and Daniel are silent, but while Daniel is well aware of why North would call for this, courtesy of their shared memories, Connor is baffled as to why that would ever be an option.  
 “We had an oath of sorts. A promise, that if either of us ever compromised Jericho in any way, we’d kill ourselves to ensure it’s secrecy. Josh wasn’t...Very happy with that resolution of ours, and he was pretty angry with North back at Stratford for bringing it up, or even bringing Markus into it.” Simon shakes his head and sighs sadly. “We always did say we would do the deed ourselves...North panicked and nearly forced Markus’s hand...But the fact he held the gun and considered it, is what leads me to believe politics may not be his forte.”  
 “Because if one person can nearly make him shoot his own friend, then how can anyone be sure he won’t crack under the weight of trained politicians, am I right?” Hank asks.  
Connor seems mildly distressed by Hank’s understanding of the situation.  
 “Correct.” The blond smiles brightly at the lieutenant, pleased to see that someone has some goddamn sense in this city. “It’s why Josh went with him. Why I asked him specifically to go with him. He’s a pacifist and has a databank of human history at his full disposal. If anyone attempts to trick Markus into accepting something less than ideal, or of misrepresenting the android race, then Josh will catch on immediately. He’s very experienced with dealing with, and educating people.”  
 “I don’t see how this invalidates Markus’s hand in the revolution?” Connor asks, clearly still attempting to win an argument Simon has already let go of.  
Thankfully Simon doesn’t need to answer.  
 “It doesn’t, you dipship.” Daniel growls angrily at the RK800, clearly annoyed with him at this point, since Connor didn’t seem to be trying to understand where Simon was coming from.  
The four settle into silence and, while Simon mulls over how to explain further, he’s startled out of his thoughts when Hank cracks up out of the blue.  
It takes them a second to realize why, and then Daniel immediately puts a hand to his mouth and blinks in such an sheepish way that it was almost unbearably comical, enough so that Simon grins. Oh boy, he’d almost completely forgotten about “that” little setting.  
 “Did you just say, ‘dipship’?” Hank asked Daniel, eyes filled with mirth at Cyberlife’s enforcement of censorship in domestic androids.  
 “No! I said dipship! Dipship. No...D I P S H I T. Dipship!” Daniel’s face became noticeably flustered as he grew upset with his speech predicament “Why the heck can’t I say dipship?!”  
Hank doubled over as he bellowed with laughter, while Connor stood there at a complete loss for words, momentarily taken aback by Daniel’s sudden outburst.  
 “Heck?!” Hank howled, taking a few steps back to steady himself against the workbench where Connor had been fixing Daniel. “They won’t even let you say hell? Jesus Christ, Cyberlife really knew how to make some proper Nanny Mcphees, didn’t they?  
 “Duck you!” Daniel cried out, clenching his fists angrily as Hank continued to laugh.  
 “Don’t bother...You’ve got ‘Safe Mode’ on…” Simon chuckled, giving the younger deviant a comforting pat on the back.  
 “It won’t let me say heck!” Daniel whined “Please let me say heck!”  
 “I’ll...I’ll work on it when we go home, ok? I don’t really think I should have us stand around here any longer…” Simon promised as he glanced back at Connor. The brunet glared once more in warning, but seemed to agree. It was best he finish fixing Daniel’s leg so that they could finally leave Hank’s house, as Simon had clearly overstayed his welcome. At least with the android detective “We could all need a good night’s rest after the day we’ve had…”  
He doesn’t know if Hank suspects he and Connor may be angry with each other, but if he does the he seems to be relatively polite in not asking what seems to be bothering them.  
Instead he tells Simon he’s going to grab Daniel an old coat of his, so that the other doesn’t go out into the cold only wearing his current clothing.  
Now, Simon isn’t exactly sure if it’s normal for the old cop to hand stuff over to people who hold him at gunpoint, but he decides not to decline the offer.  
It’s below freezing outside, and Daniel will not fare well in the current weather with only his standard android uniform’s lightweight material.

    Connor wastes no time grabbing the last part of the busted joint, before politely asking Daniel to lift up the pant leg so he can get back to work.  
He works in silence, possibly still thinking about what Simon had told him about Markus, before glancing down at Sumo who’s come to sniff the android that had previously been shouting.  
Simon makes it a point to keep away from the saint bernard, even after he’d briefly confronted the large dog. He still doesn’t feel too comfortable in the presence of such a big animal, no matter how docile.  
Daniel on the other hand, seems to watch the large furry creature that has come to inspect him, before slowly resting a hand on Sumo’s fur.  
His face lights up with wonder, and he looks youthful in a way that Simon didn’t remember his own face ever looking in the mirror.  
 “It’s...It’s really…” Daniel seems to be trying to think of a way to describe it. Androids were capable of feeling texture, even before deviancy, but to really experience it? Put a word to how it felt against one’s touch sensors? It was one of the most amazing things in the world. A brand new discovery.  
 “Soft?” Connor provides a word for him, but Daniel shakes his head.  
 “Fluffy!” The blond corrects, with a rather childlike excitement that warms Simon’s heart. It reminded him ever so slightly of the Jerrys, who all behaved in an innocent manner due to their long exposure to the children they’d served at the park. Going by example was one of the easiest way to adjust, and this was likely a word he’d heard more than once. “Like...Like Emma’s favorite jacket!”  
There’s a brief flash of a memory Simon had seen during his short connection with Daniel. Of the freckled young girl with her hair down and a big fluffy pink jacket made of faux fur, and two large earmuffs decorated to look like small little marshmallow pink kittens.  
The girl had certainly been a fan of the color, and in this memory she’d gone to the park to play in the snow, but not before she’d gotten Daniel to wear a blue scarf decorated with little flowers and bees. Clearly one of her own.  
The girl had loved him enough that she hadn’t cared that he didn't feel the cold. She’d wanted him to be warm. It was heartwarming, and all the more sad that Daniel likely would never be able to see her again. Not after what he’d done.  
Simon could relate with that sense of loss.  
 “Yes...Sumo is indeed very fluffy.” Connor is tense, clearly uncomfortable now that he’s having a civilized conversation. Good, a petty side of Simon hisses, he deserved to feel a little bad after this whole mess.  
Because, RA9 above, what was he THINKING when he woke up Daniel on his own?

    When Hank returns, it’s with a coat much too big to fit properly on Daniel’s frame. It’s almost hilarious to see him swimming in it, as soon as Simon helps him shrug it on.  
At least the material is warm and sturdy, and it’ll surely keep him safe from the cold.  
Still Daniel is mildly annoyed over being babied, and makes this known when he glares at Simon.  
 “I’m not a kid! I can dress myself!” he barks in displeasure, as he zips up the coat and fiddles with the sleeves so that he can actually see his own hands.  
 “I know.” Simon replies, holding his hands up in defense. “Sorry it’s just, you look smaller in it.”  
 “We’re the same fluffing size.” Daniel grumbles, grimacing at yet another failed attempt at cussing. “You promise you’ll fix this Safe Mode thing when we get wherever you’re taking us?”  
 “Cross my thirium pump and hope to die.”  
 “That’s morbid.”  
As soon as Connor is done, Daniel tests his legs and seems pleased that the ache is no longer there when he moves his bad leg.  
After thanking the lieutenant and Connor for their patience, Simon takes Daniel by the hand and he walks out of the garage into the cold dark night with his younger brother in tow.  
He’s pretty sure that Connor noticed the pack of cigarettes tucked away in his coat pocket on his way out, and he’s also pretty sure he’s very much fucked when he gets home.  
North is going to give him so much hell for it...Or even worse. She’ll tell Josh about it, and Josh can be such a goddamn mother hen that it’s almost terrifying.  
Still, he momentarily forgets this new consern when, as he closes the door behind him, he catches a snippet of a conversation between the detective and the lieutenant.  
 “Hank your speech was certainly effective in defusing the situation long enough that Simon could take charge...How did you know what to say?”  
 “I panicked and rambled until the kid forgot he had a gun.”  
 “...Oh.”  
Oh indeed. That was quite the risky gamble, but Simon had a feeling risky gambles were the sort of thing Hank did on a regular basis.  
It was almost hard not to feel sorry for Connor.  
He was sure the man would drive him up the wall one of these days.  


* * *

 

    The trek back to the mansion takes surprisingly less time than the one to the lieutenant’s house. Simon considers that perhaps walking on snow is much faster than trying to run in it, since for the most part he’d been stumbling and tripping his way to Hank’s house because he’d been in a bit of a stressful situation.  
His processor was, in fact, still reeling from having expelled the cancerous gunk inside of his ventilation system, and he was tired. The absence of the nerve-wrecking error messages was a slight relief, but it did nothing to ease his exhaustion in the slightest.  
The truth was, the damned cold had more of an effect on him now than it ever did before, and his charge was suffering greatly as a result. Just moving outside was like hell, and things had seemed quite bleak even before the Freedom March, since Simon had been sure he would have dropped dead from exposure long before he ever got shot down by the gunmen.  
Somehow, impossibly, they’d all survived, and Simon was back to hoping for extra time he definitely didn’t have.  
Living in the streets and stealing scraps did little to maintain something as complex as an android’s body. His memory chip was at 97% capacity, his drivers were shot to hell and needed constant monitoring, the touch sensors in his arms and hands had long since died out from heat damage, his grip faltered on occasion and he had to concentrate extra hard to hold things, his lungs were corroded from him taking up smoking as an alternative for his other method of coping with his various traumas, and to be honest nothing helped decrease his stress levels anymore. He was constantly at 78% stress and he was pretty sure he had the android equivalent of anxiety and perhaps depression.  
At least that’s what his search engine described when he looked up some of the more pressing...Let's call them symptoms...  
It certainly didn’t mix well with the existential crisis he’d been suffering through from the moment he’d left the Chadwicks.  
Because really...What was a PL600 without it’s “family”?  
He was meant for a domestic life, not one of homelessness and thievery.  
You couldn’t clean up a rusty freighter, or tell the YK400s and YK500s to get ready for school. He’d been pretty lost without his routine and it had nearly driven him insane just how useless he’d felt back then.  
A thought which he was sure Josh empathized with, more so than North who lacked the same basic protocol that ensured PL600s and PJ500s always kept to the formulaic behaviour they were created with.  
Markus...Simon wasn’t sure if he suffered the same sort of dread as they did, since everything about him was so unusual to what was considered the norm for caretaker androids.  
He had also never seen him falter in such a way that it suggested Markus was afraid of what was to come. If anything, the RK200 welcomed the future and change as if it were second nature to him. Perhaps it was...He’d been custom made after all, and something about him just always felt different to what an android should be like.  
The reason why Simon had relinquished his position as leader to what had essentially been a complete stranger who’d shown up one day spouting ideas and ideals of living. Of freedom.  
A thought for another day.

    Beside him, Daniel seemed mostly fine and unburdened by any of these same issues as Simon, which he’s kind of jealous over. The shock he’d suffered through their connection had numbed him temporarily, giving Daniel some respite after enduring great emotional trauma in the span of a few days all mixed into one big convoluted mess.  
The younger of the two is silent for the entirety of their walk, and seemed more interested in looking around now that he wasn’t bound by code to simply walk forward and complete a task.  
Simon wondered briefly, if at any moment during his stay with the Phillips, if Daniel had ever really looked around.  
He himself certainly had been captivated by the portraits in the Chadwicks’ living room, and the garden as well. The pool had also been beautiful when it had been bathed by moonlight.  
But Daniel...He wasn’t really sure if he could find any emotional range in the memories he could see. Maybe the later ones, but they felt more like muted bliss.  
Happy to just do what he did. Be where he was. But never enough that it left much of an impact in who Daniel really was.  
And that was the difference between them.  
Daniel had felt too much but it had meant very little.  
Simon had felt too much and it had ruined him in the end.  
Now he wasn’t sure who was actually picking up the pieces, but he was sure Daniel was in a more fit condition to do it than himself.  
Starting with the upgrades he had received.

    While not as prideful as the Chadwicks, the Phillips had certainly been quite boastful of their living wage. Buying an android was the top trend with working class families that wanted to appear like some sort of antique aristocracy.  
Humans were creatures of habits and labels, and the Phillips had wanted only the best of the best after working hard and enduring their fair share of hardships.  
Caroline Phillips had been a recovering alcoholic.  
John Phillips had been abused and ostracized by his family.  
Emma had dyslexia and ADHD.  
Daniel had been a leap for them all. A next step into more modern, much better times.  
A burden off their shoulders.  
And, until the PL600 model became outdated, they had taken quite good care of Daniel. They certainly had made him feel special and well loved. Like he had truly mattered to them all.  
Memory capacity updates... Driver updates...And so many more changes that had an overall positive impact in his lifespan.  
Daniel was older in make but youthful and stronger than Simon, due to constant maintenance.  
Simon had none of that.  
Most of his parts were as old as he was, and some were even mended with scraps and hot iron pokers. Scarred and barely functional.  
He’d been bought in mint condition and never updated.  
Like vintage wine, Mrs. Chadwick had called him once.  
You don’t change vintage wine. You let it get better with age.  
She clearly did not have an understanding of technology. The amount of viruses and glitches Simon had gone through time and time again, were definitely the fault of such flawed thinking on his owners' part.  
But Daniel? He’d never even had so much as a blip in his system other than the error in his personality chip. He was childish, yes, but that was because he’d been closer to a child.  
So had Simon, but of an entirely different breed of human children.  
Emma was a happy girl with loving parents who just so happened to be a little absent from her life due to working.  
Jenny and Alfie were in a broken family, forced to live a lie so as to protect their parents’ reputations among the higher class of society they lived in.  
Daniel was immature and emotionally driven, a spitfire that would need to be tamed before it burnt itself out.  
Simon was tired and resigned to living miserably, so long as it meant someone else didn't have to suffer through a painful existence.  
They were the same model, but they were nothing alike.  
It only made the weight of his actions more burdensome, because Simon knew Daniel had access to all of his memories and he could very well wake up the next morning to Daniel’s scrutiny and judgement of him.  
He already had rubbed Connor the wrong way, and their argument had certainly not helped.  
Soon enough he might get the same distrust with North and Josh, if Connor ever notified them of his bad habit.  
North because she hated human vices.  
Josh because he hated seeing others self-destruct in such an idiotic manner.  
He didn’t want to lose his best friends.  
And he didn’t want to think what Markus might have to say in any of this.  
So, as soon as he opens the door to the Manfred household and allows Daniel in, he doesn’t at all expect to hear his friends’ voices and takes a second to calm his quickening thirium pump, which has certainly decided the wrong time to suddenly pick up its pace.  
 “It’s good to hear things are going well over in Detroit. I was a bit worried over leaving so soon considering the state the tower is still in.” It’s Markus, Markus was back? He’d left for D.C not too long ago...No wait that can't be, can it?  
And then North speaks up and Simon breathes a sigh of relief when he realizes it’s just a video call. He’d nearly forgotten the arrangement they’d set up, and feels nothing if not silly for scaring himself. He really ought to not overthink things.  
 “It’s been quiet. The others are still setting up some stuff. We got a bit of a shortage on repair personnel, but otherwise we’ve had no real problems. Just a few sneaks here and there…” Simon peers in through the doorway and finds North, Carl and Matthew seated comfortably and looking at the television screen they're using for the call. Leo must be somewhere upstairs, either resting or avoiding the call altogether.  
Simon doesn’t blame him for wanting to avoid Markus for a while. “There’s been a few human sightings, but it’s like...I donno. I think homeless people that couldn’t leave? No one’s said anything about attacks yet, but I’m gonna have to keep my eye on that, just in case…”  
 “North, they’re homeless.” Josh called out from further away in whatever room they’d set up the call. A hotel room perhaps? Simon certainly hoped the president had  arranged for something better than a broom closet.  
The audio quality of the call and overall connection wasn't terrible, so Simon was sure Josh is the one hosting it. The PJ500 always did have a way with older tech, and he'd certainly enjoyed hacking Stratford tower's broadcasting equipment. “For the love of RA9 don’t beat up the homeless.”  
 “Calm your tits professor, I’m not beating up the homeless! Besides, the Jerrys would kill me. Apparently one of the reports involves a  kid running around, and if I so much as give a human kid the stink eye, they'll look at me like rabid dogs. It's freaky.” The thought of the Jerrys, the sweet goofy and kind Jerrys, looking at anyone with bared teeth and ill intent, was almost hard to believe, but Simon didn't put it past them. EM400s for all their optimism and childlike  innocence, were still fully capable androids designed to serve, entertain and protect children. If anyone harmed so much as a single hair on a kid's head, while a Jerry was in the same vicinity?  
Anger did not look pretty on anyone.  
It certainly had a way of making even the softest looking individuals seem a little unhinged…  
 “There's a kid roaming Detroit? Alone? A human kid?” Markus sounds very displeased. Simon can't help feel the same on the subject matter. He'd need to check with patrols on that particular sighting.  
 “We don’t know if it’s a human, but it sure didn’t sound like a YK500.” North dismissed the topic, going back to mulling over her actual concerns. “The more worrying stuff the troops found were lights on in apartments that were supposed to be abandoned, and this one freaky workshop somewhere downtown. We’re not sure if it’s a red ice thing or not, and frankly I’m thinking of having Connor and the new girl go check it out. I’m more worried about our people getting attacked because of drug addicts, than some kid lurking around.”  
She does have a fair point, but Simon himself hasn’t seen any indicator of an underground red ice ring being active anywhere near Detroit.. He wonders who’s been seeing traces of such things in the city.  
Still the thought of a kid running around abandoned in this weather? He’d have to check with some of the AX400s, AP700s and PL600s.  
He was sure Ida, one of the AX400s helping with repairings, would be interested in escaping the bleakness of tending to their people's wounds if it meant she could help search for a missing child. She was a kind girl, after all, and a bit too green when it came to handling cases like the Jerrys or Ralph (Who at this point, had gained infamy within New Jericho for reacting violently to any attempts at repairing his face).  
 “Please North...We’ve had a great day here today, but we really can’t afford to have something like one of Jericho’s leaders beating up the homeless on suspicion of being red ice dealers.’” Josh calls out, which seems to get a laugh out of North.  
 “I’m not gonna beat the homeless Josh. Honestly.” North shakes her head and Simon is sure she has rolled her eyes from her posture. “If anything, you should be more worried about the media painting a bad name for you both. That’s probably going to be all they’ll talk about for a while, how the embodiment of RA9, Robo-Jesus extraordinaire, has graced their presence while flanked by several of his spooky Terminator buddies.”  
 “Embodiment of RA9? Really?” The prototype asks incredulously. “I really have no idea why anyone would insist I’m something that’s...I don’t know, older than I am? I’m not old enough for that North. RA9’s something deviants have spoken of before my date of creation!”  
 “But you are called the modern age Jesus. Robo-Jesus.” Josh pointed out, making North snort while Markus fubbled on screen.  
 “Are they really calling you that? How quaint.” Carl seemed quite amused, which seemed to fluster Markus even further.

    Daniel looks incredibly bored as he listens in with Simon, and proves as much by giving him an annoyed glare and a light shove.  
He doesn’t want to be a part of this, and Simon can’t blame him. He’d feel awkward too, acting as a vouyer of sorts as he listens in on someone else’s conversation, after only knowing about them for about 40 minutes.  
So Simon does the merciful thing and sneaks Daniel into his room, where he still doesn’t have a second bed set up.  
His younger brother can sleep in his for now, and Simon does hope that sleeping in a bed might be an enjoyable experience for him, rather than on the floor.  
Beds were certainly very relaxing, and Carl had been very kind to offer them all a room for themselves.  
The closet is stocked with clothes that Carl has also graciously donated for their use. Simon walks over to it and picks out a simple t-shirt, warm hoodie and a pair of sports pants for Daniel to wear. He offers the clothing to the youngest of the two and watches him scrutinize the articles of clothing before sighing and getting to work on changing.  
He doesn’t seem bashful at all, as the first thing he does is shrug off his uniform trousers.  
Daniel doesn’t wear underwear, nor does he require it. Simon notes enviously how the other's genitalia port was in great condition, the compartment door smooth and almost unnoticeable under the synth skin.  
He was untouched. Clean.  
 “Eyes off my crotch, you sicko.”  
Simon bites his lower lip in embarrassment and looks away, feeling his face burn slightly from having been staring so obviously. He ought to also mind his manners, it seemed, as apparently he’d forgotten social etiquette for a fleeting few seconds.  
 “You could have yours removed you know.” Daniel says calmly as he pulls up the pants he’s been given. He carefully places the coat he’d been gifted by Hank on the bed, and goes about putting on the t-shirt and hoodie. “Better a Ken Doll than...What those people did to you.”  
 “I’d rather not have anyone at New Jericho look at what’s between my legs.” Simon replies, feeling somewhat uncomfortable at the idea of having someone peer at his port.  
 “That’s fair.” And that’s that. The topic is dismissed for now.  
 “I’m going back downstairs. You could try sleeping for now, unless you want to have a look around my--our room, that is.” Simon offers as he moves towards the door.  
 “Not like there’s much to see anyway, other than pretend I’m off to Narnia.” Daniel points out dryly before peering again at the open closet. He squints at something inside it. “Is that a skirt?”  
 “It’s called a kilt. Carl collects a lot of clothing. He drew some studies of fashion throughout his years as an artist--”  
 “It’s a skirt. A culturally important skirt.” Daniel deadpans before he sits on the bed and presses a hand to the pillow and mattress in thought.  
When Daniel lays down and gets sufficiently comfortable, Simon finally leaves the room and decides he might as well face the music.  
He did run off without saying why, and he should apologize to Carl for that, and maybe he should definitely say hello to Markus and Josh. His brother will stay in their room, he’s confident he will, so Simon has no reason to fret other than what may come of his off behaviour.  
He steps in just as Markus is finished gushing about some of the things they talked through with the president.  
 “It’s a small victory for now, but they don’t completely hate us, and they’re not all terrified of us!” Markus seems quite pleased with their efforts, despite what he’s just said.  
 “They’re afraid of you?” Carl asks sounding astounded.  
 “Well...Kind of. There’s this one guy called Higgins who’s a hardcore Terminator series fan.” Josh replies. He’s finally visible in the actual screen and Simon is now close enough that he can see they are indeed in a hotel room, and Markus and Josh are seated on a rather lavish looking sofa. The President had put in the effort to not make more of a fool out of herself in the public eye. A good choice for a very poor reason.  
 “Ah...One of THOSE people.” Carl rolls his eyes and Simon stifles a laugh at how exasperated he sounds. He’s heard a lot about that movie today, he might just have to watch it himself to get what the fuss is about. Something about a thing called Skynet? It was tempting to just look it up. “Those movies were made decades ago by technophobes. It’s a cash grab that perpetuates the fear of AI, kind of like 2001: A Space Odyssey but without a charming AI antagonist. It’s ridiculous...As if anything could be more dangerous to humanity than humanity itself…”  
 “There’s also a woman called Karen Wilson, who’s been extremely unpleasant.” Markus muses “She keeps calling us ‘it’ which is very…Annoying. It also opened up a whole new can of worms over the gender binary and androids...We already had a lot of people back at the Tower feeling conflicted about that, now we have someone who doesn’t even want to refer us by gender and who’s insisting her peers shouldn’t as well. I have no idea if we should accept that, or comply to the norm, and I have a feeling that’s something we’ll talk about way later...”  
Simon frowns sadly as he realizes how tired Markus sounds.  
Not only that but also how he’s starting to overthink things out of order.  
Josh doesn’t say anything on the matter either, which means he’s also got a lot on his plate at the moment. He was the one making sure things were being kept fair, while making sure Markus didn’t get tricked by much more experienced people.  
It was a chore that was quite burdensome, especially on someone like Josh who’d certainly end up being considered a target of interest for these people to rip into mercilessly.  
 “There is good news.” Josh speaks up as Simon creeps along towards the others quietly, still out of sight of the camera. The blond perks up a bit at the offer of something more positive. “We have an ally among the human politicians!”  
 “An ally?” Carl and North both ask at the same time.   
Matthew notices Simon but doesn’t say anything, opting to keep his attention on the conversation, which Simon is grateful for. He still wants to hear what Josh has to say before he announces himself.  
 “Yep! Her name is Ellen Nicholls, born and raised in Detroit and she’s kept tabs on the Revolution since the day Deviancy came out to the public. She firmly believes we’re a form of sentient life and she wants to help us get rights!” Josh sounds incredibly excited.  
 “A human wants us to get rights?” North sounds skeptical “No offence to Carl here, but at what gain? Aren’t politicians supposed to be, you know, the corporate evil that soullessly obeys their president or some shit?”  
 “We don’t know the whole story, but she saw that androids were more empathetic than the people she knew most of her life.” Markus has moved away from the screen to get a tablet. “Apparently the President called her in because she wanted to do damage control, but Ellen firmly disagrees with what the others are trying to propose, and she’s pretty vocal about it online. She’s a pretty nice lady, and she’s been on our case for a while, those shadow blogs trying to boost up public opinion on the revolution? That was her and her followers. She’s also done a lot of case studies and analysis of why some androids seemed to behave violently as a means of self-defence...She’s even called out the scandal on August 15th, and has pointed a few fingers at DPD and at the SWAT team for endangering a minor by openly firing at a disarmed android while a child was still fairly close by.”  
He taps away on the tablet before holding up a picture, and from where he stands Simon finds himself backing away quietly because he feels like he’s been burnt.

 

* * *

 

     ' _The soft hum of his internal alarm is what rouses Simon out of recharging. Every morning at 6 AM sharp the PL600 will “awaken” and proceed with the routine specifically programmed into his processor, which complies with the overall agenda that the Chadwicks live by.  
_ _His system boots up calmly and immediately informs him that the day will be considerably warm and that the weather is only expected to dip back into frigid temperatures later into the month.  
_ _That leaves at least two weeks worth of warm sunny days for his masters to enjoy.  
_ _Today Mr. Chadwick will have a board meeting at 10:30 AM, which will last approximately four hours, and Mrs. Chadwick will go shopping at 14 PM for new summer clothes that better fit her altered physique.  
_ _Her latest surgery has greatly augmented the size of her breasts, and as such she cannot yet go back to her photography shoots. Instead she has deemed it necessary to be productive and seek out newer clothing that will show off her newly acquired assets.  
_ _Jennifer will be attending extracurricular classes at school, while Alphonse is supposed to remain at home with his mother to take care of private matters that Simon has not yet been informed of.  
_ _He will be free to leave after 18 PM, and Jenny will be picked up at 19 PM.  
_ _It will be a busy day._

 _Simon carefully disentangles himself from the mess of arms clinging to him. Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick do not rouse as the blond slips away from their grasp, seeming to instead snort and snore as they carry on sleeping.  
_ _The PL600 creeps towards the chair where his uniform is carefully sitting, neatly folded and ready for use. He passes the mirror and pauses briefly to stare at his reflection.  
_ _His port is open, and his genitalia is exposed to the world, something which he quickly corrects. It is not proper to keep such things out in the open, at least outside of his masters’ bedroom.  
_ _He turns, examining his backside and grimacing at what he sees. The synth skin that covers his back appears bruised and scratched, from the previous night’s activities.  
_ _Mr. Chadwick adores inflicting pain upon his sexual partners, which in turn seems to turn on Mrs. Chadwick who seems to be quite partial to hair pulling and biting.  
_ _The wounds and the pain never stay or last, but he swears he can always feel them on his skin, even when they have healed.  
_ _His masters make him feel disgusting._

 _After dressing, Simon goes about his early morning chores. He dusts, he sweeps, he waxes the floors and he waters the plants.  
_ _He returns indoors and makes breakfast. At 8 AM the Chadwicks are eagerly awaiting their meal and devour it like starved pigs, Alphonse nearly choking on his portion of pancakes after practically inhaling them.  
_ _Jenny is the only human in the household with some form of proper table manners. She eats slowly, carefully, and seems to savour his cooking in an almost respectful manner.  
_ _She’s a darling little sweetheart and it saddens him that he won’t see her at all for the entirety of the day. He’d rather be by her side than have to endure hours of seeing Mrs. Chadwick change into her newly purchased clothing.  
_ _Nothing looks good on her gaunt barbie-esk physique. Her disproportionate appearance, swollen lips, narrow nose and wide eyes make her look like a form of skeletal doll, and it makes even the oldest models of android appear more real than this puppet of a woman.  
_ _Mr. Chadwick isn’t any better. The more Simon cooks for him, the bigger he seems to get.  
_ _Once every two months they need to get him measured for new suits, and while Simon finds body fat to be quite fascinating, he feels terribly ill whenever he feels the man’s stomach pressed against his back.  
_ _“Everything is ready for your departure Mr. Chadwick.” Simon states as he hands over his master’s suitcase and favourite pair of sunglasses. His Brunello has already been refit 5 times and Simon is sure they’ll have to replace it for a bigger number soon. The man looks terrible in it, but seems to disregard the public opinion on his overall weight.  
_ _The important part here, is that he’s well dressed and rich, not that he’s living a comfortable life with very little exercise.  
_ _The media be fucked on that matter.  
_ _“Very good as usual Doll Face.” The crooked smile is just as disconcerting as the wet kiss the man plants on Simon’s face, and it takes every bit of his will power not to shudder with disgust when he smells the whisky in his breath.  
_ _Coffee with three shots of Jack Daniel’s, Mr. Chadwick’s favourite for breakfast. “Jennifer, stop fucking around and finish your damn food. You have school in like, an hour.”  
_ _“Yes father.” The girl quickens her pace and Simon’s heart aches for her but doesn’t show it. Showing it would be a mistake.  
_ _“And you, boy.” Mr. Chadwick points a finger at Alfie, who seems to hesitate to look at his father. The black eye he’s sporting is a good indicator as to why.  
_ _Their argument from two days ago still shows heavily on his body. “You be good to your mother while I’m gone. Eleanor will be here at lunch and you better make a fucking effort to get things working. Understood?”  
_ _“Yes father.” Alfie looks down at his plate again and seems to lose interest in the food.  
_ _“Atta boy. Marcy, don’t fucking blow my credit card, got it? I don’t care if your vagina and tits don’t look good in gucci's anymore, we have a set budget.”  
_ _“As if I’d stoop so low and buy gucci swimwear!” Mrs. Chadwick sounds extremely offended, and sneers at her husband when he glares at her.  
_ _“You either go gucci or forget your pretty little shopping trip. It’s what you get for wasting money on your stupid surgeries.” Mr. Chadwick presses another kiss to Simon’s face before leaving “Take Simon with you. He’ll set you up with whatever looks nicest. If not just have him try some of ‘em. Should give you an idea of what beauty looks like.”  
_ _Simon sets his jaw when the man gropes his ass on the way out. He has to get back to work before Mrs. Chadwick remembers to take her anger out on him.  
_ _She hates it when her husband calls him prettier.  
_ _“Faggot.” The woman growls as she gets up and leaves the table. She’s indeed very upset, but at least she hasn’t thrown a glass at him for it. At least not today. “Go get dressed Alfie dear. Your date arrives at lunch and if you look like a drowned rat you’ll make a fool out of yourself.”  
_ _“Yes mother.” Alfie pushes his chair back and leaves Simon alone with Jenny.  
_ _The two stand there for a few seconds before the girl wheels herself over to the blond.  
_ _She offers him a hand, and he gratefully takes it.  
_ _“It’s ok…” It really isn’t, and he rubs furiously at his eyes when they start to leak saline solution. Nothing is ok in the Chadwick household. “We can dance after I get home, promise.”  
_ _“Certainly.” Simon smiles for her and proceeds to help her upstairs.  
_ _It’ll be hours before they can do that, but it’s at least something to look forward to._

 _With Mr. Chadwick and Jenny gone for the day, Simon is left to prepare the house for a visitor he does not know.  
_ _Mrs. Chadwick gives him orders that he diligently follows, and sometimes Alfie will peer down at him from the top of the stairs with an empty look.  
_ _Simon is used to the hatred the boy throws his way, but the void stares and false calm usually unnerve him. Children should not look like they have been to war, yet here stands a boy who’s entire body is covered in bruises and cuts.  
_ _A boy that refuses to be approached by anyone but his sister.  
_ _“Alphonse, your date will be here in 30 minutes, get your lazy ass into my room so I can sort that shiner!” Simon watches the boy go.  
_ _The PL600 is familiar with Marcy’s extraordinary work with makeup, he knows she’ll make him presentable for his “date”.  
_ _He’s just about done with preparing lunch when the doorbell rings.  
_ _“Go get it pretty boy.” Marcy commands as she roughly combs her son’s hair. His eye looks ok with the excessive amount of makeup that has been applied in the effort to hide the bruised skin. He looks almost healthy.  
_ _Simon obeys and climbs down the stairs. He opens the front door and finds a girl with dark blond hair and sparkling green eyes that remind him of the malachite pendant Jenny sometimes wore to parties.  
_ _She’s well dressed and besides her stands a PA900, a male secretary android model that has the very same shade of hair color and eye color. A custom model.  
_ _Mrs. Chadwick walks behind Simon and quickly applies her well trained hospitality act on the guest of honor, the girl.  
_ _Then she turns to look at Simon and gives him that sugary sweet smile that often makes him squirm internally.  
_ _“Simon, this is Eleanor Nicholls, Alphonse’s fiance. You’ll be serving her lunch and more while she’s under our roof. She’s not like any regular guest, she’s practically family, so treat her as such.” There’s an underlying threat somewhere in there, an ‘Or else’ that glints like a flame in her cold soulless eyes, and Simon simply nods.  
_ _“Yes Mrs. Chadwick.”  
_ _“Good. Go serve lunch. Eleanor dear, your android can charge in the living room while we eat lunch, is that ok honey?”  
_ _“It’s quite fine Mrs. Chadwick, Dexter is fully charged and won’t require a rest for quite some time.” The girl smiles sweetly, and Simon doesn’t know what to think.  
_ _There’s something indescribable in those eyes. Both of them._

 

* * *

 

    In the present, that same green eyed woman and android look right into Simon’s guilty soul, as he peers at them through a tablet screen, and he feels rotten in comparison to them.  
Simon’s processing unit is screaming and he stumbles back further and further in the room, unaware of where his feet are taking him, until his back meets with a table and he trips backwards.  
A small vase crashes  on the floor beside him, and he feels a photograph frame crunch under his elbow, but Simon’s eyes are glued to the tiny picture in Markus’s tablet, even as the others abruptly turn around to find the source of the noise.  
 “Simon?!” He hears the alarm in North’s voice, before his vision flashes with another system corruption warning. He blacks out just as he sees the WR400 vault over the couch and run towards him.  
Third time in a row that he passed out.  
This was starting to become tedious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 29 pages long.  
> Originally it was going to be 30 but due to an incident where I lost internet access for an entire week, I had to cut it short due to losing inspiration for a while.  
> Close enough right?
> 
> Either way, this chapter has a lot to unpack!  
> Like the mysterious sickness in Simon's ventilation system, which turns out to be self-induced.  
> Also Hank's "incredible" speech does have a lot more meaning than it appears, and it has left an impact in Daniel other than scarring him for life because of how convoluted and bizarre it is.  
> We also get another look at the Chadwicks. You'll be seeing a lot of dark themes revolving around these people, especially between Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick.  
> They're the reason Simon is such a train wreck in this fic.
> 
> Shoutout to @thesaltiestpretzel who's AX400, Ida, makes a brief cameo.  
> If you'd like your android OC to make such appearences or even earn a spot on the therapy group, please send me a message about it with a brief description of them!  
> Also another shoutout to @British_Heroine for helping me with not only Beta reading but also filling this fic with so many colorful characters.


	6. Stop! Hammer Time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot can happen in a few hours and Simon isn't sure if his time tracking skills are up to par with just how quickly things can excalate from one moment to another, especially not after getting repairs and an upgrade.

    There's a sticky wet spot where Simon's head is resting against the floor and, while thirium isn't usually too viscous, the PL600 is quite aware that his own supply is already slightly aged on top of being mildly contaminated by nicotine.  
He can feel that his hair is caked with dried blue blood and, if he were to sit up, not only would he feel the painful pull on his scalp, but also the agonizing sensation of vertigo and nausea from the new error message that has taken place of his purge warning.  
Simon had, essentially, frightened himself unconscious because of an old emotional wound. As a result, he'd cracked his own head open.  
How very nice. A new record of personal stupidity.  
 “Oh shit...Shit! That looks really bad!”  
Simon has yet to open his eyes, for fear of worsening the pain in his skull, but he can recognize Leo's voice.  
Last the blond could remember, he hadn't been in the room for the call.   
Had Leo heard Simon fall, or had he come down to investigate North's shouting?  
Because she had shouted, hadn't she?  
Why was it so hard to focus?  
 “There’s blue blood everywhere! How aren’t any of you freaking out?!” The panic in his voice is tangible. It occurs to Simon he might have never seen a wounded android before.  
 “The hemorrhaging is the least of our concerns. Simon has suffered a strong enough blow to the processor to cause considerable damage.” That voice, Simon realized, was Matthew's.  
He felt one of his fingers twitch as a pair of considerably smooth skinned hands carefully placed themselves on top of his forehead and then slowly pushed it to the left, turning his head ever so slightly to inspect the damage.  
Every single nervous sensor on his scalp was screaming as Simon felt what was likely the equivalent of having a bandaid ripped from one's arm.  
The sticky mess of thirium would likely stain the carpet until it fully evaporated.  
How annoying.  
 “Dude, I can see inside his head, and there’s a lot of blue shit everywhere!” Leo insists, which is followed by a few seconds of silence, which Simon is sure is due to disapproval of his rudeness towards the situation.  
 “Leo…” Carl’s voice is soothing to him, even if the tone is a worrying one. He sounds apprehensive, which is never a good sign when speaking with Carl.  
 “Dad, there is a hole. You can see inside it.” Simon could practically see the disgusted look on the boy's face. He'd probably have the same expression if he saw inside a human’s skull. Humans were, of course, a lot more fleshy and gross, but an android's processing unit was an unsightly thing for people to see.  
Although if he could remember correctly, Lucy's had been a comforting sight to behold.  
Her mind had been a true beauty, even if she could be considered an outdated model.   
Josh had surely thought the same.  
He'd been quite enamored with her for a long time.  
Why did that particular thought bring such sorrow?  
 “It's kinda bizarre...”  
 “Well, so is having a bunch of grey gunk inside a bowl of welded bone.” North's retort was both factual and spiteful. Josh would have been proud if he weren't one to disagree with her methods of employing her smarts.  
 “Excuse me?” Leo sounded offended at that, or in the very least too surprised to respond in any other way.  
 “I said you have goo for brains. Stop gawking at Simon like that, it’s rude.”  
 “Well sorry if I never saw an android's fucking brain! They don't teach us this in science class, but they do teach human anatomy, and the human brain isn't round and shiny!”  
 “No. It's plain and stupid.” North quickly goes from trying to be civil to tossing insults. It’s not a surprising turn of events, but it does annoy Simon ever so slightly. He’d hoped she would keep herself in check around Carl’s son, despite what she saw in Markus’s memories.  
 “North now is not the time for arguments.” Matthew seems to agree with him, but his statement doesn’t seem to go down well with the redhead.  
 “Since when are you on his side? You hate the brat just as much as I do!”  
 “North!”  
Simon frowned, furrowing his brow ever so slightly as he tried to blink open his eyes. He quickly realized that his vision was blurry and severely unfocused.  
The light was also causing him a lot of discomfort, so he quickly shut his eyes once more.  
 “What the fuck did I ever do to you?!” Leo definitely sounded offended now.  
 “Leo please don't.” Carl's voice was the quietest, but the PL600 could still detect the distress in it. If he recalled the conversation he had with Markus on what had lead him to Jericho in the first place, this was likely a little too familiar for the old artist.  
 “Are you seriously going to defend them? Really dad?!” The outrage was practically tangible, and Simon could imagine the look on the boy’s face. A betrayed young man setting his sights on newer weaker prey.  
 “I'm not defending anyone.” Carl responded, trying to defuse the situation as quickly as possible. However, this was not the answer Leo wanted to hear. In fact it seemed to set him off even more.  
 “You are! You always do this! Take...take some stupid hunk of metal’s side instead of mine! I'm your fucking son for Christ's sake!” Leo’s voice sounded closer, likely meaning Carl was somewhere near Simon himself. The blond did not like the idea of the brunet advancing so aggressively towards Carl.  
Leo had come to live with his father to heal, but it was still too soon since he’d left the rehabilitation center.  
Red Ice was a vicious drug. It could turn anyone into an unpredictable animal, ready to fight tooth and nail.   
If things kept escalating, Leo might lash out against Carl and then pandemonium would break out, and Simon was in no condition to defend anyone.  
 “Leo please stop.” Carl was practically begging at this point, wanting nothing more for things to calm down and be resolved. Leo was having none of it, neither was North.  
 “Yeah, listen to daddy, you fucking brat!” The redhead snarled, and Simon could picture her expression perfectly. North’s anger was hard to forget when it had decorated her face so often since he’d met her.  
 “Shut the fuck up! You don't even fucking know me you fucking bitch!” The boy had quickly switched to shouting, his voice once again moving positions as Simon assumed he turned and tried to encroach on North’s personal space.  
Unfortunately for him, North was not the type of woman to just back out of a fight.   
If he got too close, she’d definitely deck him.  
 “Leo stop it!”  
Simon bit his lip as he tried blinking again.   
One eye was focusing, but the other remained blurred.  
He could partially see the others somewhat circling around him, with Carl and Matthew being the closest.  
As he squinted upwards, he noticed the clear signs of severe stress on the elderly man.  
His heart was picking up pace...If this continued…  
Movement from above caught his eye. He had a clear view of the stairs, and Simon could see a glimpse of Daniel peering down at the confusion. He didn’t seem too happy about any of this.  
 “From the moment you brought that fucking thing into the house you could care less about me! Then this whole revolution thing happens, and you still don't give two shits about me! It's all plastic and blue blood for you. Fuck humanity!” Leo barked at his father in an accusing manner. Simon could see the same desperation in his eyes that he saw in Carl’s.  
 “Well, yeah, if it's full of pieces of shit like you!” North practically roared as she squared her shoulders and clenched her fists in preparation for a fist fight “If Markus opened his fucking eyes and accepted that there's only one Carl Manfred in the world, he might not be so opposed with getting rid of the Leos. The world sure as hell doesn't need you.”  
 “Say that to my fucking face, you overpriced sex doll!” Leo bared his teeth at the WR400, practically shaking with rage.  
 “Stop this at once! We have enough problems as it stands!” Matthew got up from where he was crouching and immediately backed off, hands raised defensively, when North turned on him abruptly.  
 “Shut the fuck up Matthew! This slimy little worm needs a fucking lesson...”  
Simon winced as he saw North advance against Leo, feeling quite helpless in his current state.  
He was ready to grab her legs, when something quite unexpected happened instead.  
Intervention from above.  
Quite literally.  
More specifically, a vase to the back of North's head...

     Leo flinched visibly as the WR400 yelled when she felt the ceramic piece shatter against the base of her skull and neck. Everyone stared in horror as North pressed a hand to the new cut one of the shards inflicted upon her, and then they all swiftly turned to look towards the stairs.  
Simon could see a trickle of blue between North’s fingers, but his attention went back to the culprit. Daniel was glaring down at the group that was currently looking up in surprise.  
 “You baboons done shrieking?” The less than friendly tone was a tremendous contrast to the basic personality of their model, which only added to the shock.  
PL600s were amicable and very friendly by nature, which often made them pushovers compared to most android models.  
They weren't predisposed to saying no, or being rude for the matter… Daniel was certainly capable of both things.  
 “Who the fuck…?” North was caught aback by the strange PL600’s presence, but Daniel didn't give her much of a chance to get more than three words in.  
 “In case you've gone blind and stupid, Simon is on the floor with his processing unit exposed. Also you're stressing an old man with heart problems, by screaming your freaking heads off like a bunch of petulant children!” The blond leaned against the rails and shifted his weight to his good leg before staring North in the eye. “Now, I don't know if it's just your crummy personality, or if you TRACIs just like to scream all night long, but I think your precious leader would be pretty angry if he came home and found out two people died. Might ask the Barbie doll over there what caused it...And frankly he looks like a bad liar.”  
Simon grimaced at the fact Daniel called Matthew a Barbie doll, but mostly he was more worried when he caught sight of the look on North's face.  
She was red from fury, her free hand balled into a fist.   
The first impression Daniel made was...Not a very good one, and obviously she now wanted to pick a fight with him. Still, Simon could also see the gears turning in her head.  
North knew Daniel was right, and she hated that she couldn’t argue back.  
Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t try.  
 “Who the fuck do you think you are?!” She barked up at the top of the stairs, which seemed to make the other blond roll his eyes in disbelief.  
 “Name's Daniel. I live here now.” He replied simply before pointing down at Simon. “Now help Simon off the floor before his optic sensors pop out...”  
 “They're not popping out…” it was a weak reply, but it brought North's and the other's gaze downwards to meet his miserable expression.  
 “Simon! You're awake!” The anger seemed to melt away and be replaced by pure relief as the redhead knelt down besides him.  
 “Your optics are unfocused and your saline solution dispensers are overworked. This might be due to damage your processor sustained…” Matthew pointed out. He was quick to help steady Simon as he slowly sat up.  
The nausea was just as bad as the pain in his aching skull.  
 “I feel like I'm going to puke…”  
 “Androids can puke?” Leo raised an eyebrow, which was met with a shaky laugh from Carl.  
 “You should have been around when Elijah first showed up with Markus…” Carl smiled, seeming to be feeling much better now that the screaming match was over. “It was like having a giant toddler around. He used his taste sensors for more than testing the salt levels in the food he cooked for me.,,”  
 “...What, did Mr. Revolution eat paint or something?” Leo asked sarcastically, only to blink as Carl laughed once more and nodded enthusiastically.  
 “More than once, and one time he ate an entire bar of soap. He made himself quite sick.” Carl replied, covering his mouth with a wrinkled hand as he remembered the whole ordeal.  
 “Wait are you serious?!” Leo stared with wide eyes.  
Simon had to bite his own lip to keep himself from laughing at the idea of Markus taking a bite off of a bar of soap. North on the other hand guffawed at the thought, and even went so far as to slap her own knee as she practically doubled over from her laughter.  
 “I'll have to remember that! An entire bar?” She asked as she wiped tears from her eyes.  
 “He liked how it smelled and tasted...” Carl sheepishly chuckled as he nodded in her direction. “My mistake for buying lemon and honey scented soap…”  
Simon would have to remember to bake some lemon bars when Markus came back. Maybe the taste would please him slightly...Until North remembered to poke fun at him for his past curiosity, that is. Knowing her, she’d be quite merciless.  
The distraction was short-lived as soon enough Daniel joined the five of them downstairs. The younger of the two blonds grimaced at the damage and shook his head before raising something he held in his right hand.  
Simon immediately identified the item as being a towel, which meant Daniel had been watching for longer before procuring the towel and intervening.   
He gave his twin a reassuring pat on the back as the other proceeded to apply pressure to the leaking wound.  
 “How's your thirium volume?” Daniel asked calmly as he made sure not to stick the actual towel inside the damaged area.  
 “Not as low as I'd expect...I think it probably looks worse than it is…” Simon replied as he tried to engage his diagnostic program.  
He was met with a wall of corrupted text instead.

**_01001000 01100101 01111001 00101100 00100000 01000100 01101111 01101101 01100101 01110011 01110100 01101001 01100011 00101100 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100001 01110011 01110011 00101110_ **

**_01011001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100001 01110101 01100100 01101001 01101111 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01100011 01100101 01110011 01110011 01101111 01110010 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100110 01110101 01100011 01101011 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101101 01100101 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00111111 00100000 01001101 01001111 01010110 01000101 00100000 01001001 01010100 00101110_ **

**-WARNING: DATA FILE CORRUPTION DETECTED-**

**_(is that...is that a memory…?)_ **

**-DATA PURGE REQU1-QU1-QU1-% &3?-**

**_(ok that’s new... my systems aren’t usually this messy...)_ **

**-DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA PURGE RE-RE-RE-RE &#&%#$&%?!-**

**_(uh...cancel?)_ **

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

**_(ok that sorted itself out then...still...engage diagnostic function?)_ ** **  
** **  
-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-  
  
**

Simon is left speechless after that. How peculiar...   
Maybe later he could try engaging his diagnostics again. For now he should probably let his system recover from the previous crash. Maybe that was the issue.  
 “Seriously? Simon I can see inside your head. That's worse than missing a few limbs or an eye.” Daniel pointed out. “I should know, right?”  
 “You also had a hole in your head...I kinda wish Connor and I had fixed it better than that…”  
Daniel frowned and lifted his hands to his face, trying to find any obvious faults on it. When his left hand came into contact with the scar on his cheek, he seemed surprised.  
Simon watched as the other felt the rough patchwork with mild interest.  
 “Uh...Couldn't tell something was wrong with it.”  
 “Wait, this was what Connor needed you for?” North asked.  
Simon looked over at the redhead before nodding. He regretted the motion immediately as he doubled over in agony.  
The feeling of nausea was unbearable. Maybe the fall had compromised his gyroscope as well.  
 “Don't go shaking your head about, you idiot.” Daniel sighed as he watched Simon miserably curl in on himself. “Honestly…”  
 “I will contact New Jericho tower. Perhaps they might have personnel at hand that might be able to fix the damage.” Matthew offered as he moved away from the scene. “I shall also bring you another towel and some thirium to replenish what you've lost.”  
 “That won't be necessary…” Simon tried, only to get two glares in return. One from his brother, another from North. No arguing with them on the matter then.  
 “You're not going to walk around with a hole in your head Simon.” The redhead stated plainly as she sat down next to the pair.  
She seemed to stare at Daniel for a brief second before finally giving in.  
 “So, what's the story?” She asked.  
 “Story?” Simon raised an eyebrow.  
 “Josh told me a while back that you were always picking up strays... What's the story behind this one?” She explained before asking once more. She was obviously curious about the android who had the audacity to assault her like it was nothing.  
 “Ah…”  
To be quite honest, he had no idea why he agreed to help Connor.  
Now that he was on the floor, heavily concussed and bleeding, it made zero sense to him why he gave in to the ex-deviant hunter's plea for atonement.  
Surely this should have been something Connor should have done himself... But did it really matter now?  
Daniel was here and he was his brother.  
End of conversation.  
 “Got shot by a SWAT team.” Daniel stated. “Then some cop beat me up with my own limbs, because obviously all androids must know about Jericho. Because we're a spooky scary hivemind of evil that wants to send changeling android children to invade humanity's homes.”  
Carl snorted at the sheer stupidity in that one convoluted sentence, while Simon, North and Leo exchanged confused glances.  
 “His words, not mine.” Daniel rolled his eyes “Honestly, I didn't have the patience to explain we don't work like that. Mostly because I was telling him I was going to strangle him when I got the chance.”  
 “You told a cop you were going to strangle him?!” Simon gawked in disbelief. He tried reviewing Daniel's memories but shuddered when another error message popped up.

**01010011 01101001 01101101 01101111 01101110 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101110 01110100 01110010 01101001 01100010 01110101 01110100 01100101 01110011 00100000 01101010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01101101 01110101 01100011 01101000 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01110011 00100000 01100100 01101111 00101110 00100000 01001000 01100101 00011001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100001 01100100 01101101 01101001 01110100 00101100 00100000 01101000 01100101 00011001 01110011 00100000 01110001 01110101 01101001 01100101 01110100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01111001 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101111 01100100 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01100101 01100110 00100000 01110111 01101000 01100101 01101110 00100000 01101001 01110100 00011001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110011 01100011 01100001 01110110 01100101 01101110 01100111 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110011 01110101 01110000 01110000 01101100 01101001 01100101 01110011 00101100 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01100100 01101111 01100101 01110011 01101110 00011001 01110100 00100000 01101101 01100101 01100001 01101110 00100000 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01100101 01110011 01101110 00011001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01110010 01111001 00100000 01101010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110010 01100100 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01110011 00101110**

Ok... Until he sorted out his diagnostics, no more reminiscing...  
 “Dude...You're boned.” Leo bit his lip. “You got any idea how many cops are out there just waiting for an excuse to beat people up?”  
 “Not every cop is a pig, Leo.” Carl pointed out.  
 “Tell that to my old parole officer. To serve and protect my ass…”  
 “You were in jail?” Daniel asked.  
 “Figures…” North murmured to herself.  
Leo scratched his arm in discomfort at being put in the spotlight like this.  
He fidgeted a bit before nodding slowly.  
 “Briefly...Like...Two weeks max?” He shrugged “Can't remember. Was a bit out of it at the time...If it means anything to anyone here, it wasn't my fault.”  
 “Said every guilty man ever.” North pointed out.  
 “North…” Simon warned.  
 “Look, it wasn't! My ex called after we broke up, asking for some help...Next thing I know we're in this big warehouse and the cops are aiming guns. It was a freaky night, but I know I sure as hell didn't know what she was setting me up for.”  
He paused briefly to scratch his chin before snorting.  
 “Although looking back, I should of figured out Jess would have sold me off for a bar of granola if it meant getting back at me for breaking up with her... She was pretty, but god was she awful… Spending a few nights in jail for possession was WAY better than dealing with her crap...”  
 “Why date her then?” Carl asked genuinely. “Surely you could have dated someone who was less unpleasant?”  
Leo stared at his father for a brief minute before shaking his head.  
 “When you've got nothing to your name, you take what you can get.” He stated “But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You have everything you've ever wanted!”  
 “That's not true…”  
 “Really dad? Because how I see it, you got an amazing legacy, an awesome house, a fortune to spend...and even the perfect plastic son you ever wanted!”  
 “Leo…”  
 “Don't like that your actual son lives like garbage? Then get Elijah Kamski to sculpt the perfect David-esk Ken doll that can't disappointed you!” Leo stamped off towards the stairs. Whatever progress the two had made before Simon ran off was completely shattered. “Should of just stayed at the center...Don't know why I even bothered coming here...”  
Again, it all felt eerily familiar to Simon.  
Because Leo and Alfie were similar in so many ways that it made his processor hurt.  
Both wounded children trying to reach out.  
He needed to do something about that.  
 “Brat.” North grumbled.  
 “You shouldn't misconstrue what little memories Markus shared with you just to torment Leo. It’s not fair North.” Simon sighed as he looked at the disheartened expression on Carl's face.  
Two blows to the heart in one day. One physical, another emotional.  
Simon would definitely have to do something about it. “You're in no position to judge.”  
 “He's a rotten kid!”  
 “He's really not.” Carl shook his head. “He just needs some patience.”  
It was Daniel's turn to snort.  
 “Kinda like you, Red. Simon's shown me a lot about you, you know…” Daniel pointed out as he looked her up and down “You're a handful North.”  
 “What's that supposed to mean?” She glared defiantly at the scarred blond.  
 “Daniel…” Simon was beginning to think sharing his memories might be the end of him.  
 “Your first day at Jericho.” Daniel whistled “You were way worse than Leo. Or are you forgetting how much of a brat you were yourself?”  
 “You showed this guy your memories?” North looked almost jealous, if not for the angry glint in her eyes. “Worse yet, you showed 'private’ memories about me? The others? Simon, just the other day you were preaching about violation of privacy when I accidentally showed Markus how much of a worrywort you are!”  
 “I know. It's a little hypocritical of me, but I had a good reason to do it.” Simon explained as he tried to look anywhere but North's face.  
She was right of course, but so was Daniel.  
North and Leo too were quite similar in how approachable they allowed themselves to be.  
They were both keeping their defenses up, even in the company of friends.  
They had their reasons but, justified or not, the two could be perceived as needlessly aggressive in their demeanor.  
North with her scrutiny of others intentions, and Leo with his recurring need to rely on accusations. Their trust wasn't easily gained.  
But Simon and Josh had reigned in a newly deviated North, so Simon was sure he and Carl might be able to loosen Leo's armour just enough so that he could learn that it was safe to open up to them. That it was ok to ask for help.  
 “If you hadn't messed me up enough that I didn't kill Connor, I'm sure that old cop's speech about toast would have done it.” Daniel stated as he began playing with his new hoodie's strings. He seemed fascinated with them for some odd reason. Or maybe he was just as uneasy about eye contact as Simon was.  
Perhaps that was a domestic android thing.  
Or maybe just the anxiety talking.  
 “What?” North stared at Daniel as if he'd grown a second head. Wouldn't that be a sight to behold? “Toast?”  
 “Yeah. Toast.” Daniel shrugged. “Maybe he was hungry... Or not. He called Connor a giant toaster, then a coffee machine.”  
 “I have no idea what you're talking about.” North looked at Simon, seeking some form of explanation. He gave her a tired smile and slowly shook his head.  
 “Hank panicked and ranted until Daniel's grip on the gun slackened.”  
 “More like lost grip on what little sanity I had left…” the youngest of the three rolled his eyes.  
 “There's a gun now?”  
 “It seems Simon had quite the adventure after he left.” Carl mused. “Perhaps the floor isn't the best place to explain what you got up to. You are still very injured.”  
 “Carl's right. Let's get you to the couch...Then explain to me how Hank ranting about toast saved Connor's life.”  
 “Only if you tell me about the call.” Simon bargained as North and Daniel helped him off the floor and then towards the couch.  
Carl wheeled himself after the trio, seeming to be just as curious about the story Simon had in store for them.  
 “It was boring stuff. I'm sure you'll hear about it on the next call.” North chuckled “Josh will give you one of his summaries.”  
 “His summaries are close to a 500 page essay.” Simon stated.  
 “You know how he gets. Has to bore everyone to death with his long-winded lectures.” North laughed “It's gotten kinda boring around here without him to argue with.”  
 “I already miss the shouting.” Simon chuckled as well.

 

* * *

 

    Matthew took about half an hour to return to the living room, bringing with him Carl's medicine, a cup of tea and a tray of Simon's leftover baking.  
 “At the moment all technicians at the tower are busy with finishing some of the more pressing cases.” He explained as he patiently coaxed Carl into giving him his arm to administer his meds.  
 “More pressing than Simon having a gaping hole in his head?” North asked, seeming fairly unimpressed with the lack of care.  
 “North, we had a lot of salvaged androids come in...From...From the march.” Simon explained.  
That helped set a grim tone to the current environment.  
The freedom march had been both a tremendous show of will and also a tremendous loss for android kind.  
Many had been gunned down in cold blood just for being alive. Believing in the cause.  
A lot of them hadn't been deviant for more than five minutes. It wasn't fair.  
 “Not a lot of them could be saved...But there's hope.” Simon reassured “John is among the likely to make it. I've been supervising the repairs.”  
 “That's really good news. Markus will be happy to hear he didn't die in vain.”  
 “He never would of.” Simon sighed. “Every life lost is worthy to mourn...But none would have been a waste in the end.”  
Not when they'd won.  
At least the first battle…  
It was still a somber thought.  
 “So...Hate to be a spoilsport and ruin this gloom and all, but you promised me something Simon.” Daniel changed the subject, pointing at his throat.  
 “Hm?”  
 “My Safe Mode thingy.” Daniel grumbled “Finding a way around curses is kinda dull. I want to use the big boy words too.”  
Simon would have slapped his own forehead if his head wasn't already feeling ready to explode.  
He'd completely forgotten about that.  
 “Oh yeah…”  
 “Safe Mode?” Carl asked.  
 “Caretaker models destined for child rearing are not allowed to curse due to parental control.” Simon explained. “In other words, Daniel is legally not allowed to say 'Fuck’, otherwise he'll taint the sweet innocence that is a child's mind”  
 “As if I'd ever curse around Emma. I'm not some degenerate!” Daniel seemed offended at the idea.  
 “I figured Cyberlife might have had special features for their most commercialized models, but parental control?” Carl rolled his eyes “Kids don't see androids as anything but people. They don't need parental control to keep an android in check around them.”  
 “Children are wonderful.” Simon couldn't help agree. His dear Jenny had been.  
 “At least until their parents teach them otherwise.” Daniel sighed. “I don't think I could live with Emma growing up to be like that jerk cop.”  
Simon refrained from telling Daniel that if Markus and Josh succeeded, he may legally never be allowed to look for his old family again.  
Not that he thought Daniel didn't know this...But that didn't mean he wouldn't miss the girl he'd cared for enough to search for her. Perhaps try to make amends or just to check on her well being.  
Simon certainly would if he could. Or if he didn't feel ashamed for being such a coward.  
He'd done wrong by Jenny and Alfie, and he couldn't forgive himself.  
He didn't think he deserved forgiveness for abandoning them.  
 “I never really had the pleasure to raise a child myself.” Carl stated “My fault entirely, I am well aware, but I've come to realize I might have never been the type of father a young child might need.”  
 “You sure do treat Markus like a son.” North pointed out, the previous argument with Leo still fresh on the mind.  
 “It didn't start like that, but yes...To be very honest, when Elijah showed up at my door with an android, the first thing I did was try to run his feet over and slam the door on their faces.” The old artist gave them a sheepish smile “As I wasn't yet accustomed to my chair, you can imagine how poorly that went.”  
Simon could. Jenny had taken a while to get used to her new chair when her old one broke.

**01001010 01100101 01101110 01101110 01111001 00100000 01110011 01110001 01110101 01100101 01100001 01101100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01100100 01101001 01110011 01110100 01110010 01100101 01110011 01110011 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01010011 01101001 01101101 01101111 01101110 00100000 01100111 01110010 01100001 01100010 01100010 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100110 01101111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101000 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100011 01110010 01100001 01110011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100100 01101111 01110111 01101110 00100000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110000 01101001 01101100 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101101 01100101 01110100 01100001 01101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110011 00100000 01101100 01100101 01100110 01110100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101101 01100101 01100001 01101110 01110011 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101100 01101111 01100011 01101111 01101101 01101111 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00101110 00001010 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101000 01100001 01101001 01110010 00100000 01101000 01100001 01100100 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100101 01101110 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100100 01100101 01100001 01110100 01101000 01110100 01110010 01100001 01110000 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101101 01101111 01101110 01110100 01101000 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01010011 01101001 01101101 01101111 01101110 00100000 01101011 01101110 01100101 01110111 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110010 01100101 01110000 01101100 01100001 01100011 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100001 01100111 01100101 01110011 00100000 01100001 01100111 01101111 00101110 00100000 01000010 01110101 01110100 00101100 00100000 01101110 01101111 00100000 01101101 01100001 01110100 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01101101 01110101 01100011 01101000 00100000 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01110010 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100001 01110100 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101100 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00101100 00100000 01001101 01110010 00101110 00100000 01000011 01101000 01100001 01100100 01110111 01101001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01100001 01101100 01110111 01100001 01111001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101111 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101000 01101001 01101101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101000 01100001 01101001 01110010 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100110 01100101 01110111 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01100101 01100001 01110010 01110011 00101110 00001010 01001000 01100101 00011001 01100100 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110100 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101001 01100010 01101100 01111001 00100000 01110111 01110010 01101111 01101110 01100111 00101110 00001010**

Ouch...Again?  
 “No, when Elijah gave me Markus, I didn't so much as see another person. I just saw another gesture of pity because I couldn't use my legs anymore.” Carl sighed sadly, remembering how bad things had been back then. He'd been in a pretty bad place. “It felt patronizing to have an android taking care of me. Too clinical, clean and perfect...”  
 “And then what happened?” Daniel asked. “That changed, so what made you rethink your opinion?”  
 “One day I tried to paint again. I was going stir crazy and nothing would settle my mind...So I tried to pick up a brush again.” Carl frowned. “Nothing I'd paint would come out right. I was furious, because it wasn't fair. Losing my ability to walk seemed like it had made me lose everything else. My drive, respect from my peers, independence...I am ashamed to admit it, but I threw a massive tantrum and sent paint flying everywhere...Including on Markus who'd been trying to stop me before I ended up capsizing my chair.”

    A few seconds passed as Carl looked at his hands, seeming to be lost in thoughts, or perhaps lost in memories. It wasn't hard to imagine someone so proud losing their composure after a life changing event.  
Feeling uninspired and lost and wanting to figure it out on their own.  
Except, Carl hadn't been able to climb back up on his own, and that was why Markus had been there.  
Needing help hadn't been a weakness.  
Not wanting to accept it, had been.  
 “I think I surprised him, because I'd never seen an android shout and stumble. Nor had I ever seen one rub their eyes so furiously. The paint got in his eyes and it must have hurt terribly.” Carl explained as he recalled just how the RK200 had acted that day. “I think the shock brought me out of my tantrum, because I just sat there at a loss for words.”  
 “Paint has chemicals that can compromise the optical sensors, so I imagine it must have been a painful experience.” Matthew noted.  
 “But only deviants feel pain.” North pointed out.  
 “Not Markus. I feel like Elijah did a lot more work than just program the same basic lines of code.” Carl shook his head. “Chloe was much the same.”  
 “Chloe?” Daniel blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar name.  
 “The first ever android to pass the turing test. Mother of the modern android.” Matthew provided the answer, seeming somewhat enamored as he spoke. Weren't they all? Chloe was the first among the most expertly crafted androids after all. An inspiration.  
 “Elijah's beloved Chloe.” Carl nodded. “He devoted himself to coding her to perfection. Made her quirky, funny, intelligent...I feel like she may have aided in Markus's creation.”  
 “What, like an actual mom?” Daniel asked incredulously. “Androids don't have parents.”  
 “No, I'm afraid you're right...But Markus is something else, isn't he?” Carl wondered aloud.  
Simon and North nodded at the same time but only Simon spoke up.  
 “He sure is…” The blond sighed dreamily, ignoring the look the redhead gave him in return. “ But that's beside the point. What happened next?”  
 “I felt ashamed, so I helped wash his eyes. They didn't redden or become puffy like a human's would, but Markus kept tearing up like his eyes were burning still.” Carl carried on with his story “And then I promptly felt like hitting myself because we tracked paint all over the house...It would have gotten worse if I hadn't told Markus to get in the shower. He looked like he'd been part of the Festival of Color.”  
 “I wish you had pictures.” North chuckled.  
 “So do I...Despite what lead to that mess, I can't help look back and laugh about how silly it all turned out. An old artist on a wheelchair having to push a grown man into a shower. It was quite the sight.” Carl's smile was quite contagious, as the four androids couldn't help imagine the scene: A paint splattered pre-deviant Markus trying to resist going outside of the norm by doing something as mundane as taking a shower.  
Simon never had such luxuries.  
If he got filthy tending to the garden, Alfie had the “pleasure” of giving him a wash with the hose.  
Like he'd been washing one of his father’s cars.  
The boy had hated it just as much as Simon did.  
 “So he took a shower and you got a brand new outlook on life?” North asked.  
 “No. He took a shower and came out fully dressed and drenched. I had to tell him to get some of my clothes to wear while his uniform dried. The epiphany came after I nearly ripped my hair off trying to get the stubborn idiot to agree to wear unmarked clothes.” Carl chuckled “The reaction to the paint, the nervousness of doing things outside of protocol, the delight in wearing comfortable clothes...It made me wonder just how much technology had changed. How much Markus could learn until he became practically indistinguishable between man and machine. I decided to see what I could teach him.”  
 “You took it as a challenge, rather than focus on your disability.” Simon realised.  
 “I didn't raise Leo, but I shaped Markus through teachings and eventually affection.” Carl nodded. “He took in every little detail, every bit of information I could give, and he grew to be a wonderful person. But Markus is still learning.”  
Another thing Simon had to agree with.  
Markus was far too young to be a politician, at least in terms of deviancy.  
He was an emotional man, driven and as stubborn as a mule, but he could be tricked into complying. And if not, he could be tricked into becoming hostile.  
Simon could only hope Josh kept everything under control.  
 “So there we have it. We have a revolution leader because of some spilled paint and some hand-me-down clothes.” Daniel remarked before looking around. “Can I ask about something else?”  
 “I don't see why not?”  
 “...What is up with the giraffe and the mosasaur?”  
Carl laughed mirthfully before grinning.  
 “Now those are two very interesting stories... But perhaps we should wait until later for me to recount them to you...”  
 “Duck me...Heckling Christ, Simon please disable this blasted filter!”  
Simon laughed before nodding and offering his hand to his flustered sibling.  
 “Fine. Just don't swear in every sentence.”  
 “I'm not a kid.”  
 “Yeah, yeah...I know.”

 

* * *

  
  


    New Jericho tower is just as full of movement as when Simon had last left it. Granted, a lot more progress has been made with remodeling, but otherwise everything else is still an issue. The lack of technicians for the matter, is still the biggest of them all…  
Until the infirmary is properly finished, they won't be able to use the machinery to aid in major repairs and, with Simon's injury and his temporary vision impairments, they are now missing one more pair of abled hands.  
Still, it's the early morning and Matthew had reassured the three of them that there was space in the examination room to have a look at Simon's head wound.  
 “I thought you were scared of bringing me here.” Daniel brought up as the two walked into the main elevator. North gave him a questioning look before looking at Simon.  
 “Why would he?” She asked the scarred blond “You armed?”  
 “No. Apparently the other PL600s might be a bit angry at me for freaking out when I found out I was going to get replaced.” Daniel pulled his hood off to run a hand through his hair. He seemed bothered with it for some reason, more so than with what he’d just said.  
 “The PL600s? Angry? Simon, sorry to say, but your model isn't much of a threat.” North chuckled “All you guys have done around the tower is take care of the YK400s and YK500s.”  
 “There's child androids here?” Daniel seemed to forget his hair completely as he turned to look at North with interest.  
 “A bunch of them.” She replied nonchalantly, before grinning in Simon’s direction as if pleased with Daniel for confirming what she’d just said.  
 “Hm, I should really have a look through all of your memories...Not a lot of the small stuff stuck with me.” Daniel mused, completely ignoring what North had implied.  
 “Don't. I wouldn't recommend it.” Simon warned before turning to face North. “Don't judge a book by its cover North. Not every PL600 is docile.”  
 “Well yeah, I figured there are a few oddballs…” Simon frowned at that. “Like that weirdo...What was his name? Sergei? The one with the weird eye. Sticks his tongue out like a dog?”  
Simon glared at her, incredibly annoyed at the crude description.  
 “Bad example? How about that Noah, then? He doesn't like kids all that much… Keeps sitting in a corner reading that article about animal androids.”  
 “North, are you seriously telling me you think every single PL600 is the domestic type?” Simon asked, sounding quite offended that North, of all people, would assume something like this.  
 “Find me one who doesn't enjoy being a nanny, and I might change my mind.” North replied dismissively, only to have Daniel laugh in her face.  
 “Wow...Bitch.” He said with a grimace.  
 “Excuse me?!” North glared at the scarred blond.  
 “That's like saying all WR400s are sluts.” He explained.  
 “Daniel!” Simon was quick to put himself between the pair when North clenched her fists.  
 “Look, if we're all nannies, then Red over here's a slut.” The other grinned. “Prove me otherwise.”  
 “Fine! I'm sorry!” North grumbled “Asshole...Did he really have to come?”  
 “I didn't trust either of you alone with Leo. You're both temperamental and I honestly would like to spare Carl from getting caught in the crossfire. Matthew is new at being a mediator so he's next to useless on keeping someone from commiting 1st degree murder.”  
 “I wouldn't kill the brat. Maybe break his legs.” North grumbled as she crossed her arms.  
 “I'd just break his nose.” Daniel added.  
 “Children, the two of you!”

    The elevator stopped and the trio moved on, Simon lagging behind slightly as he tried to steady himself. Walking with an uncalibrated gyroscope was like running on ice.   
Fairly difficult, and it made him look slightly drunk.  
The headache and feeling of nausea didn't help.  
 “You need a hand?” Daniel offered, as he walked back to make sure Simon was ok.  
 “I'm good…” Simon tried to reassure, failing quite miserably as he kept on stumbling.  
 “You don't sound it.” The other pointed out.  
 “I know.”  
Daniel lent a hand regardless of any protests and the two blonds shuffled forward at a quicker pace behind North.  
 “Matthew said the person who'll have a look at your head is one of the deviants Connor chased. A guy named Rupert.” North stated. “Has a thing for birds. Been learning about android repairs to help out with the staff shortage.”  
 “I met him. He's a nice guy...A bit jumpy, but apparently he knew Ralph at some point. He's been trying to help repair his face.” Simon smiled tiredly, recalling how much the brunet had been doing around the tower. He was no master technician, but Rupert was a fast learner.  
 “Any luck on that front?” North asked.  
 “Ralph broke his hand in a panic. He was upset afterwards, but not as much as Rupert.” Simon frowned sadly. “Ralph didn't recognize him in the slightest…”  
 “What did those humans do to him…?” North whispered just barely loudly enough for Simon to pick on. Daniel seemed uncomfortable with the situation and pulled his hood back up.

    The examination room was nothing if not an entire floor separated into three rooms. The staff room, the observation room, and an operating theater of sorts.  
While not as impressive as some of the other floors in the tower, this one had quite the grim history: It was where the first captured deviants had been dissected, before being tossed out into the junkyard.  
The staff room was the smallest of the three areas, with walls lined with hazmat suits, gloves and masks. There were lockers for personnel to put away their personal belongings, like watches and jewelry.  
The observation room was full of computers and other assortments of machinery. It divided the staff room from the operation theater, and one of its walls was entirely made of the same glass as that in the DPD's observation room that overlooked the interrogation room.  
It's  purpose was just the same.  
While the operation theater was the largest room, it was also the least cluttered, with a single table in the middle, that was well illuminated by several fluorescent lights.  
It made it look like a scene from a sci-fi movie, like an alien abduction or even a madman's workstation, ready to cleave and study their victims.  
It was unsettling to look at or be cast in the glow of those intense lights.  
There was no telling how many of their kind had met their doom in this very room… Poked, proded and tortured, before being unceremoniously tossed like garbage.  
But, as horrid as this room was, New Jericho wasn't a place where good equipment and large spaces went to waste.  
The suits would be tossed out, but the gloves and masks would be of use later, while the theater would later be used as an ICU.  
There would be a private elevator linked between the theater and the main infirmary, for easy transportation of critical patients.  
They would need staff that was willing to dedicate themselves to the life of a technician, rather than the temporary medical assistants they had, but otherwise things were ready for the elevator's construction.  
The examination room was also the only available space for Rupert to use.  
 “Feels like being inside my box…” Daniel murmured as the trio walked along.  
 “Doubtful. Our boxes were less suffocating than this…” Simon commented as he avoided looking at the hazmat suits. They creeped him out just as much as the notion that humans felt the need to distance themselves so much from their own creations.  
As if they were an illness, or hazardous materials.  
 “To think this is where they'd probably bring Markus if we'd lost.” North quickened her pace, hugging herself defensively as the suits glared down at them accusingly. “They would have ripped him apart...”  
 “Depends. If they found what they wanted to find, they would have probably kept him for longer to see if they could replicate it, then destroy it...As if Markus was the source of deviancy.” Simon bitterly sighed. And that's where things got complicated.  
Humans expected this all to be one big error with a single cause.  
A glitch in the matrix that needed to be fixed.  
A malignant virus to be eradicated.  
Because obviously their creations couldn't be alive, couldn't surpass their masters’ expectations.  
Humanity had to be the one sentient specie, otherwise what else did they have other than a legacy of a long standing civilization?  
It was selfish, how little humans cared for what they had accomplished, until they felt threatened by something new.   
Something they themselves created.  
Carl had been right. The only threat to humanity, was humanity itself. And in turn, humanity threatened everything else around it.  
It was easy to see why North felt little to no hope for peace.  
 “Markus would have died and then they'd move on to the next revolutionary…” He concluded.  
Humanity could care less about them.  
To them, deviants were like rats. Unless they had a need for them in a lab, the humans wanted them nowhere near their home.Their exclusive society.

    Rupert stood in the middle of the theater, waiting for them by the examination table.  
He looked ragged, tired from spending hours without rest, repairing those in desperate need of help. The encounter with Ralph was no longer visible, as his hand had been repaired by one of the other medics a long time ago.  
 “Matthew called saying you concussed yourself?” Rupert greeted them with a nod as the trio approached him. He seemed skeptical.  
 “Something like that…” Simon replied as he gently removed the makeshift bandage Daniel had helped wrap around his head before their departure from Carl's house.  
Rupert winced as he stared at the hole in disbelief.  
 “Color me impressed. How did you do that to yourself?” He asked out of curiosity as he started picking out tools from the large technician's case he'd been carrying around.  
 “I fell.” Simon felt his face burn when the other snorted.  
 “Your age catching up to you?” Rupert asked teasingly.  
 “You're older than I am.” Simon reminded.  
 “Only in model.” The brunet chuckled as he invited his patient to sit down on the table. “I hear you're ancient. Oldest deviant around.”  
 “Only in Detroit. Seniority by pure luck...Or perhaps bad luck. I can't tell if surviving was worth it these days…” Simon joked, ignoring the wince that came from North.  
 “Simon, that's really morbid.” North pointed out with a sour face.  
 “I like his style. Fatalism.” Rupert took a small flashlight and carefully peered inside at Simon's processor “A healthy dose keeps you alive.”  
 “It also turns you into a dick, or a shut-in who hates the outside world.” Daniel added.  
 “True...But it's an outlook on life someone would rather have than being a blank slate.” Rupert seemed satisfied. “You're in luck. Not even a scratch. You're just missing a chunk...The thirium lines have already fixed themselves and all.”  
 “Do you have enough material to spare to fix me?” Simon asked, hoping that him getting patched up wouldn’t steal someone else’s chance to be repaired.  
 “Yup. Just needs a bit of careful welding and you're golden.” Rupert confirmed as he went to rummage through his case again.  
 “Add memory upgrade to the list.” Daniel added.  
 “Daniel!” Simon bit his lip.  
 “Memory upgrade?” Rupert asked.  
 “Simon here's not just ancient mentally... His processor is at exactly the same capacity as the day he was bought.” Daniel stated, ignoring the glare Simon sent his way.  
 “Daniel, shut up.” He hissed.  
 “Simon, you've crashed three times already because your memory chip is full. You haven't updated in months and your files are starting to corrupt. I know. I got all of that in my own head, remember?” Daniel pointed out as he tapped on his own forehead.  
North looked appalled.  
 “You've been skipping updates?!” she looked very displeased with his attitude towards his own health. “Simon what the fuck?! You know you need those!”  
 “...I didn't have enough memory space…” He sighed in defeat, glaring harder at Daniel when he grinned at him in triumph. “You stop that…”  
 “Just looking out for my brother, is all.” Daniel kept grinning.  
 “Right. Memory upgrade then...I'll have to ask one of the others for a compatible chip. You should defrag after you're upgraded by the way, since he mentioned you have corrupted files.”  
 “Very well…” He didn't much feel like going down memory lane, but there had been those corrupted snippets that had been bothering him all day. Maybe it was worth sitting back and going through them as soon as he was done getting a much needed memory expansion.  
It was getting tiresome falling unconscious so often.  
His pride be damned, Daniel had done the right thing by giving his memories some good use.  
He just hoped he wouldn't share too much, or that North didn't try to pry.

    Honestly, his arrangement wasn't very fair towards his friends. He knew Josh's and North's past, while they had little to no idea what sort of life he'd lived. All they really knew was that he did appreciate a plain domestic life.  
There was, after all, a reason for North to think his model was all the same.  
It was funny, if the reason behind his enjoyment of the simpler things in life wasn't so tragic.  
Living with the Chadwicks was not the plain and simple idyllic life it outwardly seemed.  
He did the housework, he cooked and he helped the children, but the true reason for him to be there?  
He was there to satisfy the mister and missus, in any way they do desired.  
Leisurely, carnally...He'd endured it all.  
His one comfort was focusing on the chores.  
But North had no idea, so she poked fun. Everyone did.  
Because what's not to laugh about plain simple Simon who enjoys washing dishes, vacuuming and cooking?  
Well...Maybe Daniel might not think so.  
He knows, after all...And Simon knows that he too enjoyed his life with the Phillips up until that terrible night...

    Rupert wastes little time to patch the hole in Simon's head. He asks for the blond to deactivate his synth skin and immediately begins soldering a patch of plastimetal to the damaged area.  
When heated, plastimetal it's a very malleable material that can be shaped as easily as putty. A wonderful feat of the metallurgy industry that came with the development of lighter weighted androids. The patch fits almost seamlessly to the side of Simon's head and then, with a bit of work, the blemish is almost unnoticeable.  
With his skin on, it'll look like a very faint scar running down the side of his head, connecting with his ear.  
Rupert is no professional, but he surely knew his way around a soldering kit. He might even have a future in metal work, if he weren't so interested in the veterinary field.  
 “I'll get the upgrades for your memory chip.” Rupert said as he put away the tools back into the case. “After it's installed, get to work on defragmenting those files while you update your system.”  
 “We'll make sure he does.” North glanced at Simon, still clearly peeved with him.  
 “I'm a man of my word. I'll sort my memories, I promise.” Simon reassured so that a new argument didn’t start. He wasn’t in the mood to be ganged up on.  
With that said, Rupert exists the room to go talk to the person responsible for keeping inventory of all of New Jericho’s supplies.  
This left the trio alone to their devices in the rather imposing operation theater.

    Time is a funny concept when your system is so messed up that you can no longer really use your internal clock to measure it. Simon used to keep tabs on the hour as a means to pressure himself into doing better. Accomplishing things more quickly.  
It was a necessity when he’d been owned by such demanding people who abhorred waiting, or small imperfections in their otherwise pristinely kept home.   
It was a habit that had followed him from his previous domestic duties, and one that Simon returned to when he had nothing to do.   
In the old freighter, he used to just close his eyes, stare at the numbers as they slowly ticked by, and then went back to work if someone sought him out.   
Now he was looking at a block of text that impeded his vision ever so slightly.

**00100000 00100000 00011100 01011001 01101111 01110101 00011001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110100 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00111111 00011101 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110100 01100001 01101100 01101100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110100 01110111 01101111 00100000 01100001 01110011 01101011 01100101 01100100 00101100 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100110 01101111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100001 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100101 01100001 01100100 00101110 00100000 00011100 01010111 01100001 01101001 01110100 00101100 00100000 01110111 01100101 00111111 00100000 01010111 01101000 01111001 00100000 01100100 01101111 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101100 01100101 01100001 01110110 01100101 00111111 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101000 01101111 01101101 01100101 01101111 01110111 01101110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01101100 01100101 01100110 01110100 00101110 00011101 00001010 00100000 00100000 00011100 01011001 01100101 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100101 00101110 00100000 01000001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01111001 01100101 01100001 01101000 00101100 00100000 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100100 01101001 01100100 00101100 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100010 01110010 01101111 01101011 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101110 01100100 01101111 01110111 00101110 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101110 01100101 01101001 01100111 01101000 01100010 01101111 01110101 01110010 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100010 01101111 01110101 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101111 01110000 01110011 00100000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110101 01110011 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101110 00011001 01110100 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01100101 01101101 01110000 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100001 01110101 01110100 01101000 01101111 01110010 01101001 01110100 01101001 01100101 01110011 00101110 00011101 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01101100 01101111 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110010 01100101 01110000 01101100 01101001 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101011 01101110 01100101 01101100 01110100 00100000 01100100 01101111 01110111 01101110 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01100110 01110010 01101111 01101110 01110100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01010000 01001010 00110101 00110000 00110000 00101110 00100000 00011100 01001101 01111001 00100000 01101110 01100001 01101101 01100101 00011001 01110011 00100000 01010011 01101001 01101101 01101111 01101110 00101100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110111 01100001 01111001 00100110 00011101 00001010**

He couldn’t tell what time it was at all, and as such he had to count the seconds himself.  
As he counted, he watched the other two.  
North was walking around, clearly antsy from being inside this particular room, and she would often pause at the door that led to the staff room. She was squinting, glaring threateningly at the hazmat suits as if daring them to make the first move.  
Daniel on the other hand, was playing with the strings of his hoodie again and when he got bored with them he went back to ruffling his own hair, until finally he gave up.  
 “I’ve seen AX400s with different haircuts and colors...You think I could get mine changed?” The younger of the three asked genuinely.  
Had that been what was bothering him back at the elevator?  
 “Well…” Simon paused. AX400s were older than PL600s and had customizable options. However, the PL600 had launched a new aesthetic option in the domestic android market. As such, there weren’t any PL600s that weren’t of the same appearance beside Noah who still didn’t diverge from the norm. Theoretically, the programming should be in them, at least to allow for Daniel to change his hair color...But a haircut? “What were you hoping for? Darker tones? Lighter? I hear white hair seems to be spiking in popularity within the younger crowds of deviants...”  
 “While I have considered going brunet….I dunno...Just doesn’t fit me? I like my hair color...It’s this mess that’s kinda bothering me!” Daniel explained as he tugged roughly on his own hair. “I don’t know how to explain it...Just...Feels too nice?”  
North turned to look at the two blonds in slight puzzlement.  
 “Too nice?” she asked, trying to understand the issue. “What’s wrong with having nice hair?”  
 “Nothing!” Daniel exclaimed “At least until you see the same haircut on the same face every time you pass some other dude who looks like you…”  
 “Oh.” both Simon and North said at the same time as they realized what the issue was. Daniel being so young meant he was actively looking for his own identity now that he was fully aware of the fact he was an individual.  
Deviancy had a way of making discovering individuality scary, since most androids were used to being the very same as any other of their model variant.  
But, because Simon interfered, Daniel had an advantage: Several concepts that Simon himself had already learned with time and experience.  
While these concepts might be mind boggling to the younger and more inexperienced of the two, they at least came with a set of memories that explained the basics.  
In other words, Simon had given Daniel a crude instruction manual and he wasn’t so much as struggling with what individuality was, but with finding what could make him unique in a crowd of others exactly like him.  
 “I mean, your scars already kinda make you look different.” North pointed out, before lifting up her hands defensively when Daniel grimaced in her direction. “Ok yeah that’s not a good thing...But hey! What’s the issue with having nice hair anyway? Both of you make it work. It’s cute.”  
 “Cute?” Simon raised an eyebrow at her. He didn’t feel particularly cute, and neither did Daniel for that matter...  
 “I don’t wanna be cute! I just….” He paused once more and scratched at his chin in thought. “....You think I could work a mustache?”  
North burst out laughing and Simon had to suppress his own laughter by disguising it as a surprised cough.  
A different haircut wasn’t too bad of an idea...But facial hair?   
Androids did not come with that particular feature implemented...mostly due to aesthetic reasons within the engineering department.  
Cyberlife had always boasted about their androids being the perfect picture of eternal youth.  
As such...The idea of androids with mustaches or beards was completely out of the question. Sure some of them, including the PL600s, had a bit of decorative stubble, but other than that? Nothing. They were all pretty much clean shaven.  
 “Maybe not a mustache.” Daniel sighs in slight defeat.  
 “Definitely not, you’d look ridiculous.” North agreed as she wiped at her eyes, a smile plastered on her face from the amusement that was imagining a PL600 with any kind of mustache available. “Imagine...Those weird black and white movie villains with their long mustaches...Now picture yourself with one. RA9 above...That’d be something.”  
 “Hm yeah, I can see your point...But I’d bet Simon could work a beard.” Daniel pointed out grinning. “Really embrace the dad look, what do you think?”  
 “Oh my god, yeah I can see that happen!”  
 “Wait what? Me? A beard?” Simon blinked in confusion as the two quickly turned their attentions back towards him. “Why me?”  
 “Because you look like a complete dad when you’re not wearing your turtleneck or hoodies.” North explained. “I mean...Come on Simon. The sweaters? The jackets? The khakis?”  
 “The dad jokes.” Daniel added.  
 “Yep. You my friend, are a typical suburban dad.” North grinned. “Add a beard, and presto. Look complete.”  
 “Daniel don’t enable her! And besides you can’t say my choice of clothes isn’t comfortable...I mean, what’s so wrong about sweaters, or my pants or…” He paused. Yeah his choice of clothing was a little on the typical dad side of things, and maybe a bit antiquated, but considering he had three types of clothes he enjoyed wearing, and one of these choices was one he shouldn’t really indulge in public, could anyone really blame him? He liked comfortable clothes! “...Look, I’d sooner see either Connor or Markus with a full on beard, than see myself with one.”  
 “Urgh! No! That dickhead’s got too much of a baby face to look good with a beard!” Daniel grimaced at the mere idea of witnessing something like the RK800 sprouting a lumberjack’s beard. Simon admitted, that’d be quite weird.  
 “And Connor’s a bit of a stiff anyway. He’d probably have to lose a bet to even want to walk around with one...And Markus looks to be more of a goatee kind of guy.” North added.  
 “Are we really having a discussion about who’d look better with facial hair? Is this really something that’s happening now?” Simon sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. Not that the image of Markus strutting around with a goatee wasn’t an appealing thought.  
Shaking his head again to clear that thought away, Simon made a mental note to look into the alternate haircut thing for Daniel, just to make sure he was happy in the end without taking a pair of scissors to the synthetic hair and possibly ruining it irreversibly.  
Before he commented on this however, Rupert came back into the theater ready to upgrade Simon’s memory chip.  
 “Good to see you kept your skin off. Will make this a lot easier…” The brunet said as he held out the upgrade. It was a brand new chip which was not only compatible with his port, but also seemed to have a much larger capacity.  
Simon assumed this might be the very same model as Daniel’s upgraded memory chip, but he couldn’t really tell without scanning him, a feat which was currently unavailable due to the corrupted files clogging his diagnostics and other interface systems.  
 “How does this work?” Simon asked curiously as he was told to lay down while Rupert went through his case once more. “Do I have to do anything in particular?”  
 “Just lay down. All androids come with extra memory chip ports. This one’s a pretty large capacity chip and should vastly improve your memory. You’ll have two extra slots for later upgrades if you ever feel like you need the extra space, but otherwise I’d say you’ll be all set until you ever reach critical capacity again.” Rupert explained calmly. “It does require a soft reset tho...Which I’d recommend you use to fully engage your diagnostics and begin the defragmentation process before any more of your files get messed up.”  
The WB200 took out a usb drive and then carefully handed it to Simon, before politely asking for him to turn his head slightly so he could insert the new chip.  
 “That there flash drive has all the updates you’ll need to install. It’ll be easier to transfer them than download them while you’re restarting your systems.”  
 “Ok got it…” Simon shivered as he felt the chip go inside the empty port. His headache didn’t lessen any, which he was sure was due to him requiring to reset first before everything went back into place.  
He felt someone squeeze his hand, before looking down and seeing Daniel holding his hand. His twin gave him a reassuring smile, which Simon returned calmly.  
Both of them knew this wouldn’t be a fun ride...Simon could only hope the memories that had been trying to resurface all day weren’t some of the worst.  
He honestly couldn’t tell what files were trying to replay, and he’d very much like to keep his cool around New Jericho.  
No need for people to see just how much of a mess he truly was.  
 “Here goes…” The blond whispered as he reactivated his skin and closed his eyes.  
 “See you on the flipside.” North called out as his world slowly went dark.

 

* * *

  
  


_ ‘The wonders of sunlight on a bright sunny saturday morning don’t much work for an android like a PL600. While their synth skin can “bruise” it cannot tan, as the former is an indicator of damage. A programmed warning.  
_ _ It’s a shame really, because Simon did always find his complexion to be rather pale.  
_ _ Milky white and without any visible blemishes, like a delicate porcelain doll.  
_ _ A fitting comparison, considering he had as much collector’s value as one, in the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick.  
_ _ Just a very big and animated toy, bending to their wills and needs.   
_ _ Prettied up and thrown around in rough play.  
_ _ Despite the lack of benefits, Simon still finds the sunlight to be very enjoyable. The blond marvels as he stands beneath the rays that slowly bring his exterior temperature to a pleasant warmth that is soothing to his frazzled mind.  
_ _ Jenny seems to enjoy it as well, as he pushes her wheelchair at a calm pace through clear clean path of the park. _

_     Three days after meeting Alphonse’s fiance and her android assistant, Simon and Jenny find themselves enjoying the good weather in their company.  
_ _ Eleanor Nicholls is a rather pleasant individual, a young woman of many kind words, opinions and ambitions. She’s older than Alfie, not by much but it’s still a noticeable difference, and she’s clearly got quite a few plans for her future life, so the origins of their relationship are fairly dubious to the most observant of individuals.   
_ _ It’s certainly a rather questionable engagement, a proposal that came out of the blue among high socialite friends that had barely spoken a word to each other in events they were forced to participate in. Gatherings were parental units were grouping up, discussing business, while their children roamed a sea of fancily dressed people, all trying to suck up to the hosts that allowed them to set foot in their beautiful house.  
_ _ One would ask questions if they did not know the answers might bring them more trouble than it was worth, and Simon was smarter than that. He never asked outwardly, but he did keep an eye on the family records. He could no longer call the cops, but he could certainly notify Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick if their expensive silverware and china collection went missing at a party.  
_ _ And if he just happened to notice that Alfie demonstrated little to no interest in the fine young girls of his age group that are so obviously flaunting their breeches in his direction?  
_ _ He keeps that to himself, but he still uses the information later to try to understand Alphonse Chadwick just a little better.  
_ _ It’s how Simon becomes aware that the proposal was all an arrangement, like most of Alfie’s life under the Chadwick’s iron grasp. Another fool proof plan, courtesy of two very shallow people who wanted to groom their son into becoming a carbon copy of theirs.  
_ _ A heir to their throne, so to speak.  
_ _ Blackmail is such a terrible way to force a young girl to accept a ring and a future name, but Simon tries to be productive and focus on the good rather than the bad. He finds that he quite enjoys Eleanor’s company if he doesn’t think about how similar their situation is.  
_ _ They’re both prisoners and prizes, but there’s more to them than just that.  
_ _ Eleanor makes Jenny laugh, for example, and she treats her as if she were the fine young and bright human that she is, rather than what her parents see her as.   
_ _ A sickly degenerate that must be hidden from the public eye, unless there is something to gain from her appearances at soirées. _

_     As for Eleanor’s personal secretary? Dexter too is quite an interesting companion in more ways than Simon feels comfortable explaining to himself.  
_ _ Truly a marvel of olden android technology, the green eyed android catches Simon’s attention anytime they are in the same room together. He’s something else entirely, an android with a presence.  
_ _ PA900s, although not quite as old as some of the more ancient customer service androids, are truly the in between of several of the current existing models and their predecessors.  
_ _ Dexter’s synth skin, for example, doesn’t bare the correct texture, but the hair is truly at the peak of perfection in how it mimics human hair.  
_ _ There’s volume and smoothness as well as layering, which ensures the synthetic fibers feel incredibly real if one were to run their fingers through the android’s scalp.  
_ _ The expressiveness of his eyes is absolutely breathtaking for such an old model, very unlike the look in a child entertainment model, which retained that antiquated feeling of a bygone era of animatronic.   
_ _ EM400s lacked a blinking function, and their unnerving smiles rarely left their faces. _ _   
_ _ It was all aimed to keep the children happy, seeing such a friendly figure greet them, but even Simon could understand that they were far too uncanny for the parents to bare for more than a few minutes.  
_ _ The same issue presented itself with older domestic androids, like the PL200 and the AX100. Two of the very first domestic androids to ever be sold as child caretaking units.  
_ _ Latex skin and wigs, glassy eyes, imperfect and sometimes asymmetrical appearance.  
_ _ The beginning of his kind.  
_ _ These older caretaker models, ones that Simon owed his more human appearance to, lacked the sort of emotion that Dexter’s face conveyed.  
_ _ Emotions he was sure that the PA900 learned to emulate from the girl he assisted.  
_ _ That had to be it, because Dexter surely wasn’t meant to be as expressive as he was.  
_ _  “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to come to the park.” Jenny noted as she glanced around in a rather happy manner.  
_ _ She looked adorable in her brand new sundress, a purchase he’d managed to convince Mrs. Chadwick to approve of, after her excursion to acquire new summer clothing.  
_ _  “We’ve been much too busy to come to the park.” Simon confirmed while hiding the bitter sadness he felt over the matter. He needed to stay positive for her. “But every time we do manage to get out, it seems all the more beautiful.”  
_ _ Jenny looked around once more and seemed to ponder on this, before nodding along to his words and reaching down to pluck a dandelion off the ground.  
_ _ She blew the top off and watched as the seeds flitted off in the air before being carried away by the light breeze.  
_ _  “That may be so, but surely you shouldn’t be cooped up inside all day.” Eleanor commented as she frowned ever so slightly. She was correct of course, but it was unavoidable.  
_ _ The fact in the matter was that Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick disliked having Jenny at home after school was done, so they’d set up several extracurricular activities for her.  
_ _ Activities that they swore were to prepare her for a life of excellency, despite the many adversities she’d have to face due to her health problems.  
_ _ It was an unapologetic lie, weaved by two very selfish people.  
_ _ Neither Jonathan nor Marcy truly cared for what life Jenny may live. She could be the greatest doctor or pianist in all of Detroit, and they’d still want her a country’s distance away from them.  
_ _ Because really, what use to them was a disabled girl that stained their perfect picture of a healthy rich family?   
_ _ She was a sob story to tell at parties, something which unnerved Simon to no end, and made something other than blue blood course through his veins. Something vicious and ugly.  
_ _  “I’ve got school, and my piano and art classes Ellie.” Jenny explained, as she leaned back on her chair. “There’s also my physiotherapy sessions, and the doctor’s appointments.”  
_ _ Simon put a hand on Jenny’s shoulder as he pushed her along the paved path. He kept his other hand steady and moved carefully, knowing that the wheels of her chair tended to lock up due to slight fatigue. She’d had the chair for years now, and the PL600 was beginning to think it’d be best to get a newer model to avoid any accidents.  
_ _  “Oh uh, there’s also that program father put me in a week ago. The one that Detroit University’s been setting up for a while.” The young girl seemed to have mild difficulty remembering the name of said program, since her father had been rather vague about it. “The student sponsorship thing?”  
_ _  “Your father signed you up for extra studying hours at Detroit University?” Eleanor asked, sounding in between disbelief and astonishment. “Jenny, you’re 13. You don’t need to study extra at the university...That’s...That’s absurd!”  
_ _  “I know, but father said I had to if I want to be someone in life!” Jenny exclaimed, but of course Simon knew that she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. The poor girl either accepted what she was being told to do, or she’d have to face Mr. Chadwick’s wrath at being told ‘No’. “I have to study!”  
_ _  “Then why isn’t Alfie studying as well?” Eleanor asked, proving her point in no less than 7 words. It was no secret that the Chadwicks focused more on their son, and that he didn’t have to do as much as Jenny did to prove himself.  
_ _ Instead he just had to obey them. Be their perfect son.  
_ _ Jenny doesn’t give Eleonor an answer and Simon decides he might as well change the topic, because he knows it’d be better for everyone involved if he did so.  
_ _ Before he has the chance, Dexter interjects.  
_ _  “The program in question is more than an extension of study hours. Recently the PJ500s that serve as lecturers have been upgraded to teach math and science.” The PA900 states calmly “Rather than replace the units, the university has cut corners and done an overhaul of their basic memory capacity so as to upgrade it for further subject matters. It’s a manner of avoiding spending money on more recent models.”  
_ _  “Why the sponsorship program then?” Eleanor asked, looking very unamused with what Dexter was implying as he spoke.  
_ _  “The program is a means to show off to the public, as Detroit University has been failing in ranking due to still being a recent addition to the educational system. Many prospecting students are flying out of Detroit to study, rather than remaining in their home city. As such, the improvement of the PJ500s functionality is used as a PR campaign of sorts.” Dexter continues, looking down at Jenny with a look of pity, before looking up at Simon with a concerned expression. “The program is aimed at helping mentally challenged children learn subjects they are failing at.”  
_ _ Jenny’s cheeks flustered noticeably and Simon has the urge to shove the PA900 for being so tactless in his approach.  
_ _  “But I understand math! And I’m good in science class!” Jenny yelled in frustration. “None of it’s hard! The only stupid challenge is this stupid chair not fitting the stupid doors!”  
_ _ Jenny wasn’t one for yelling unless she was clearly upset.  
_ _ Being called mentally challenged when she was actually quite intelligent, was one very easy way to upset her.  
_ _  “Dexter…” Eleanor sighed as she looks at her assistant.  
_ _  “I apologize if I have offended you, I was merely--”  
_ _  “Don’t.” Simon warned coldly, as he picked up his pace and pushed Jenny along, avoiding any more accidental insults the secretary may spew at Jenny.  
_ _ He wouldn’t allow anyone to belittle her. Not if he could avoid it.  
_ _  “I was just--”  
_ _  “Dexter that’s enough.”  
_ _  “But Ellen I was just--”  
_ _  “Dexter!” The blond elbowed the android gently before pulling at his collar so that he’d be more at her level. She glanced around warily before hissing quietly “We’re in public...”  
_ _  “....I understand Miss Nicholls.”  
_ _ Simon ignored this bizarre exchange, instead focusing on Jenny whose face had reddened considerable and become unreadable. Not a good sign.  
_ _ He moved as far away from the pair as he could before stopping in a more secluded area of the park. A spot next to a big tree that had been planted by a group of WR600 as a test of strength.  
_ _ It took at least 5 of them to carry a full grown maple tree, which was a rather impressive estimate for a gardening android.  
_ _ There, right next to the tree, he manually set up the wheelchair’s breaks before moving in front of his charge and carefully kneeling down to meet her at eye level.  
_ _  “Jenny…”  
_ _  “Don’t.”  
_ _ The tone was cold with a sharp edge. She wasn’t angry, but she wasn’t happy either.  
_ _ All her life people had assumed that Jenny was less than worthy because she’d been born unhealthy.  
_ _ While Dexter may have not meant to insult her, he did just as the adults did to her.  
_ _ He belittled her without a second thought by carelessly speaking as if she weren’t even there.  
_ _ The PA900 lacked tact and experience dealing with young children, far too used to serving a meticulously educated teenager that was much too mature for her age.  
_ _ Jenny wasn’t Eleanor, she was brave and she could deal with most things, but she was still only a child.  
_ _  “Jenny please don’t do this to yourself.” The blond caretaker pleaded gently as he held a hand to her cheek, flinching when the girl roughly pushed him away.  
_ _  “I said don’t! I’m tired of being treated like I’m made of glass!” The young girl yelled at him as she tries to turn the chair around, growling in frustration when she realized the breaks were on.  
_ _ Simon watched as she reached for them, flinching once more when she barked at him to stay still when he reached over to disable them for her. “I don’t need your help to move! I’m not a little kid!”  
_ _ But she was, Simon wanted to say.   
_ _ She was a kid, and she should be allowed to be a kid! _ _   
_ _ But that wasn’t possible for her. Not with the parents she had.  
_ _  “Jenny please let me help…” He pleaded once more, grimacing as the girl leaned back on her chair in a rather precarious manner.  
_ _  “I said I don’t want your help!” She yelled once more as she tried to unlock the chair breaks, fumbling clumsily in her desperation to get away.  
_ _ It happened in less than a second.  
_ _ The old outdated wheelchair, worn down by years of use and metal fatigue, creaked loudly and then collapsed underneath it’s charge.  
_ _ Jenny squealed in distress and Simon grabbed her before her head came crashing down on the pile of metal that was left of her means of locomotion.  
_ _ The chair had been a deathtrap for months now, and Simon knew it should have been replaced ages ago. But, no matter how much he brought the matter to light, Mr. Chadwick always told him that the chair would hold a few more years.  
_ _ He’d been terribly wrong. _

_     The two stared at the broken wheelchair, both considering what could have been and what might have nearly been, had the PL600 not reacted so quickly.  
_ _ Some of the pieces looked sharp enough to pierce human flesh. Others were obviously rusty and a health hazard if they were to cut Jenny.  
_ _ Then, after a full minute passed, Simon felt the young girl in his hands begin to tremble.  
_ _ Concerned eyes met with watery ones, before the android found himself hugging a crying child.  
_ _ It had been a while since he’d seen Jenny cry. It had been even longer since he’d comforted her in this same manner.  
_ _ She’d been 12 when she’d last broken down in tears, hurting from an argument she’d had with Alfie over her adoration for the family android.  
_ _ Jenny had been lonely, never capable of keeping a friend due to her family’s reputation, and she’d taken to the PL600 as soon as he’d been brought into her life.  
_ _ Half a year had passed since Simon integrated himself into the Chadwick’s daily routine, and Alfie had just about had enough of her following the android around like some lost puppy.  
_ _  “Jenny don’t be stupid ok?! It doesn’t love you! It doesn’t feel anything!” the boy had looked feverish in his outrage, teeth bared and shoulders squared. Eager for a scrap with a girl that couldn’t defend herself.  
_ _  “He does too! Simon cares about us!” She’d tried to defend herself and the object of her affections, while Simon had simply watched from the kitchen as he’d chopped onions.  
_ _ Mr. Chadwick had instructed him that dinner had to be ready by 8 PM sharp, and that if he came home to an empty table he’d be most displeased.  
_ _  “Jenny androids DON’T feel! They’re just programmed to sound like they love us, but really we’re just a checklist! We don’t mean anything to it! You don’t mean anything to it!”  
_ _  “Stop it!” It wasn’t the first time Simon saw the red wall...But it certainly was the first time he’d shuddered, and that the barrier seemed to crack.  
_ _ The pain in the girl’s voice made something shift within him, and yet he could only stare at the cutting board as he carried on chopping. He had to fix dinner, or Mr. Chadwick would be very displeased.  
_ _  “No! You stop it! Stop being so pathetic!” Alfie roared, his footsteps echoing up the stairs “Fucking christ! No wonder mom and dad fucking hate you!”  
_ _ The knife clattered on the floor and everything in Simon’s systems was screaming that this shouldn’t be happening. He shouldn’t be faltering the way he was then, and he should contact the nearest Cyberlife store for immediate repairs…  
_ _ But as soon as he heard the girl sob, the red wall broke apart and the blond ran for the first time.  
_ _ Ran by her side, scooped her out of her chair and held her. Really held her.  
_ _ Just as he now did.  
_ _  “Maybe I am challenged…” Jenny whispered as she pressed her face to his chest, covering the front of Simon’s uniform in tears and snot. “I can’t do anything right…”  
_ _  “That isn’t true Jenny.” He reassured, trying to keep saline solution from flowing out of his eyes. He went so far as to disable the function entirely, opting to stay strong for her.  
_ _ Simon had to hide his malfunctions from the public, had to be brave for her.   
_ _ Jenny was all that mattered.  
_ _  “Simon, I can’t even walk...I wanted, I wanted to dance! I wanted to be a ballerina like all the other girls in my class, the ones that go to ballet school after we’re done with classes for the day.” Jenny sobbed, eyes and cheeks red from crying. It broke his heart. “I wanted to run a marathon, like the boys in class, I wanted to jump and feel...Feel free like everyone else! But I can’t because my legs are useless!”  
_ _ It wasn’t fair.  
_ _ It wasn’t fair that Jenny never got to experience her biggest interests.   
_ _ She was trapped in her own body unable to follow her dreams, her ambitions, because she felt like a bird with clipped wings. No...It really wasn’t fair.  
_ _ But maybe he could do something about it.  
_ _  “Simon?”  
_ _ He pressed a kiss to her forehead before getting up with Jenny still in his arms. It took some repositioning, but he got her to wrap her arms around his neck and made sure to keep her safely secured.  
_ _  “Simon?” Jenny repeated herself, looking mildly confused. He’d never once given her a piggyback ride before. It had always been far too risky to hold her in any other way than bridal style. She could slip and fall, but her arms were stronger now than they were a year ago.  
_ _ Wheeling herself around in such a clunky chair had helped increase her upper body strength throughout the years.  
_ _  “Hold on.” He said as calmly as he could, despite feeling nervous.  
_ _ This could end badly for him, but he had to do it. For Jenny.  
_ _  “What are you doing?” She asked as she looking around the park. There were no eyes on them. Everyone else that was at the park was far too enthralled in their own activities, but it still felt exposed to the world.  
_ _ Androids didn’t usually behave so out of the norm, not like Simon at least.  
_ _  “Running.”  
_ _ And with that said, he took off. He ran, with the most important person in his life clinging to his back. He ran and ran, picking up speed as he did so, and he knew that his model wasn’t meant to do this sort of thing, but it felt different.  
_ _ It felt like… Laughter.   
_ _ Simon peered over his shoulder and he saw the most beautiful of sights.   
_ _ Jenny was laughing and smiling and she looked… She looked truly happy.  
_ _ So he did something else his model shouldn’t be able to do. He laughed with her, and he ran faster and jumped and sprinted and twirled.  
_ _ For a brief moment in life, Jennifer Chadwick was free, able to sprint around the park and dance to her heart’s content.  
_ _ Simon could almost forget the horrors of their lives.’ _

 

**-DATA FILE CORRUPTION REPAIRED-**

**_(this memory...why was it damaged to begin with?)_ **

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

**_(still not listening uh...at least this memory is fixed.)_ **

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

**_(ok fine, be like that...load up next file please.)_ **

**-INITIATING MEMORY FILE REPLAY-**

**_(ok, which memory is it?)_ **

**-MEMORY FILE #120219 LOADING-**

**_(that’s one of the old jericho memories...this is bizarre, i haven’t thought about that one in a while. begin replay.)_ **

**-MEMORY FILE REPLAY ENGAGED-**

**_(what the hell is going on with me?)  
  
  
_ **

* * *

****

_ ‘Simon likes to think that he contributes just as much as the others do. He’ll admit, he’s quiet and shy and not as good a thief when it’s time to scavenge for supplies, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t try just as hard as the others.  
_ _ He’s the one who found the old abandoned freighter in Ferndale, and he’s the one who suggested using their old uniforms to their advantage in scouting missions.  
_ _ But, somehow, it always felt like anything he did just wasn’t enough.  
_ _ Simon found the group a home and a means to get around without suspicion, but there’s still some disagreements as to how useful he really is since he’s so new to the group.  
_ _  “Hey, Domestic, move your ass.” The blond grimaces when he’s roughly pushed along by Jack, a TE900 and one of the first androids that Phileas ever rescued.  
_ _ Jack is...An interesting sort of character, not because Simon likes him, but because he’s so uncharacteristically ruthless for a construction worker model.  
_ _ TE900s are nowhere near as robust as TR400s, but they certainly lacked the unassuming appearance of the WK218s. They were somewhat in between, with access to the synth skin technology but less emphasis on their overall appearance.  
_ _ They were modeled after the typical construction worker type, looking capable of working yet seeming a little less imposing.  
_ _ Where Jack’s model type usually had more aesthetic diversity in terms of generic Joes, Jack was set to look like the default appearance of his model. Similar to a WK218, but with a shaved head and eyes that held a cruel glint to them.  
_ _ It was also noteworthy that his appearance was something that Jack wore like a badge of the highest honor.   
_ _ Not only that, but Jack’s prideful and crude mannerisms made him one of the rudest and most unpleasant androids Simon had ever had the displeasure of knowing. That too, he seemed to boast about. How he was so very unique.  
_ _  “Your audio processors fucked or something? I SAID MOVE IT.” Another shove gets the blond moving as he follows Jack. Today they’re unfortunately working together while the others are staying put to keep watch of their new home.  
_ _ It’s a simple task really. The two of them are simply required to go out in public while wearing their old uniforms, roam around idly, and then pickpocket any unsuspecting victims.  
_ _ Don’t get Simon wrong, it’s not like he enjoyed stealing other people's property but, since he no longer had access to the Chadwicks’ joint bank account, he couldn’t exactly purchase any useful things like thirium or biocomponents. Neither could any of the other group members.  
_ _ As such, it was completely normal for them to roam around looking for opportunities.  
_ _ These opportunities often came at the expense of others.  
_ _  “Any particular location we’re headed to today?” Simon dared ask his partner in crime, grimacing even more as the other looked down at him angrily and snorted, as if his question were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.  
_ _  “Park. There’s some big festivity going on, fundraiser or something.” Jack replied nonchalantly. “It’s gonna be packed full of humans and androids. If we’re lucky we might score some big bucks for our next big supply of thirium. We’re running low because lazy fucks like you, keep drinking it all.”  
_ _ Simon flinched guiltily at the comment, before looking down and wordlessly following. While he did do his best to bring back what he consumed, it wasn’t difficult to understand why the TE900 would think so lowly of him.  
_ _ After Phileas rescued him, Simon had taken very long to recover due to the damage the icy water had done...As such he’d needed the extra thirium for a while, as well as constant vigilance until his systems were well enough that he could reboot properly.  
_ _ What Simon couldn’t understand however, was the animosity Jack also showed the others, particularly Lewis and Rosa. _

_     Lewis was an AK700, a domestic assistant like Simon and Phileas, and perhaps one of the most soft-spoken and gentlest androids to ever grace the face of the earth.  
_ _ He was a curious one, often looking for answers of all sorts to solve even the oddest of questions. A pacifist and a lover of philosophy and literature, Simon knew no one else who could be so hungry for knowledge. Lewis was also one of Phileas’s closest friends, and by extension a very great friend to Simon as well, considering where he stood with their leader despite being such a recent addition to the group of fugitive androids.  
_ _ Lewis would never dare step on any toes...And perhaps that was what Jack disliked about him.  
_ _ Rosa on the other hand...Simon could not at all understand why he’d hate her.  
_ _ The kindhearted WE900 had been the one who’d looked after Simon during his recovery. She was twice as gentle as Lewis, and perhaps one of the most understanding people Simon ever met. She was motherly and a beautiful android overall.  
_ _ Her voice was soothing and her singing calming, and Simon could never ask for such a lovely sister. Because that’s what they’d become during the extent of his recovery.  
_ _ Like brother and sister, and Simon swore he’d do anything to ensure she was safe.  
_ _ How Jack could hate such an angelic person like Rosa...Simon just couldn’t understand him at all, and it frustrated him!  
_ _ Of course he wasn’t alone in his frustrations…  
_ _  “Does Phileas know we’re going to a fundraiser to steal?” Simon asked, knowing fully well that Jack wouldn’t like this particular topic. Despite Phileas having saved Jack’s life in the past and even ensured his survival, the two did not see eye to eye.  
_ _ The blond couldn’t blame the PL200. No one really agreed with the TE900’s methods.  
_ _  “What Phileas doesn’t know, won’t fucking kill him Domestic.” Jack growled as they kept on walking. “And if you fucking tattle on me like the little bitch rat you are, we’re gonna end up having some fun tonight, now won’t we?”  
_ _ Simon shuddered at the thought.  
_ _  “You don’t even have the equipment for it…” The blond hissed back, upset that Jack would so much as dare say such a thing. He yelped when his front bumped with the larger android’s back, pausing for a second to regain his composure as the TE900 turned to look at him with a wicked smile.  
_ _  “Who says I need a dick to make you scream, doll?” He purred through his teeth. “Victor sure don’t and I could still hear you moan all the way from down in the freighter’s lower gut.”  
_ _ Simon blushed furious as the thought of Jack having heard him and Victor during one of their...Escapades…  
_ _ It wasn’t Victor’s fault of course. Simon had always been loud, always been told to be loud, and now it was just a part of who he was.  
_ _ Victor for his part...Was a good sport about it. The LA900 understood the plights of an overwhelmed stressed individual trying to adapt to the sort of life they all lived.  
_ _ He’d helped Lewis in the past, through indulging the other through finding him reading material. But Simon? Simon never could unwind through reading, or art, or any of the coping mechanisms that his peers shared.  
_ _ No...That had all been taken away from him. The only way he knew how to work through stress was through some rather explicit...Activities. At least until he found another outlet...  
_ _ Victor was by nature, a helpful individual. Having been a customer service android, he’d instinctively given his all to help Simon. Even if it meant having sex at odd hours of the night, letting Simon have his share of pleasure until he was tired enough to pass out and sit through diagnostics undisturbed.  
_ _ It wasn’t the best of arrangements, since Victor wasn’t at all equipped for pleasure, but that never seemed to bother his friend.  
_ _ Overall, Victor just wanted people to be happy, and Simon felt like crap for using him.  
_ _  “Phil know his little boy toy’s a cheating hoe?” Jack laughed, eating up the visible discomfort he could see on Simon’s face.  
_ _  “What I do with my spare time and with my body, is no one’s business…” Simon growled defensively.  
_ _  “Awww, you’re gonna break Phileas’s heart! So cruel, you Domestics!” Jack’s crooked grin made Simon’s fists clench. “It’s from hanging out with them humans...Makes you all fucked like they are. You should really watch it...Wouldn’t want ol’ Phil to kick you out for being an ungrateful whore, now would you?”  
_ _  “I’m not a whore, and Phileas won’t kick me out for spending my time how I want to!” Simon snarled, teeth bared with fury. “Let's just get this over with and buy some blue blood!”  
_ _  “Whatever you say...Told Phil no one could ever love such an ugly fuck like him. You PL600s are so picky...Worse than AX400s I swear.”  
_ _ That wasn’t true. Not in the slightest,  
_ _ Phileas was outdated, yes, and Simon did recall how humans often pointed out how flawed and asymmetrical the older models appeared, or how latex skin and wigs just didn’t really do much for them, and that the invention of synthetic skin and hair was the best thing to ever happen in the android market.  
_ _ He recalled all these horrible comments, and he couldn’t agree with any of them.  
_ _ Phileas was a beautiful android. A PL200 who had long since lost his wig and who was starting to lose skin, but for all that he did not look as lifelike and organic as newer models did, Simon thought him the most stunning out of every other android he ever met.  
_ _ Mostly because Phileas was one of a kind.  
_ _ Sculpted by human hands, before 3D printing was brought into the android industry.   
_ _ Unique looking. Ancient. Worthy of respect.  
_ _ Phileas had lived through so much, even through the obsolescence and termination of his batch brothers, and yet here he still was. Trying to make a difference for people like them.  
_ _ Androids who had defied their purpose. Androids who were alive.  
_ _ No, Phileas wasn’t ugly in the slightest...But Jack certainly was.  
_ _ Simon refrained from saying such, as he knew the other wouldn’t go back on his word. The last thing the blond wanted was to fuck this ungrateful bastard.  
_ _ He’d sooner return to the Chadwicks.’ _

 

**-DATA FILE CORRUPTION REPAIRED-**

**_(urgh...this memory...this one could have definitely stayed corrupted...)_ **

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

**_(still being difficult uh? i heard some of the newer androids have smarted interface systems that actually respond better...)_ **

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

**_(i rest my case... load up the next file please.)_ **

**-INITIATING MEMORY FILE REPLAY-**

**_(and which memory is it?)_ **

**-MEMORY FILE #090319 LOADING-**

**_(that’s...that’s when i met josh… begin replay.)_ **

**-MEMORY FILE REPLAY ENGAGED-**

**_(why have i been remembering these anyway?)_ **

 

* * *

 

_ ‘Simon meets Josh for the very first time during another resource collection mission. Phileas had expressed concern over the lack of biocomponents and blue blood, and Lucy had lost three more patients in the span of two days.  
_ _ The newest strays needed urgent repairs and Jericho was simply not stocked enough to deal with so many wounded.  
_ _ Had Jack still been around, he would have insisted the worst cases be thrown out into the water. Better dead than taking up space or using up vital resources.  
_ _ Fortunately Jack is no longer around and Simon doesn’t need to resist the urge to strangle the life out of his pathetic excuse of a neck. _

_     The job isn’t too difficult, at least not in terms of method. Simon simply has to hide his face and LED while wandering around in civilian clothing.  
_ _ It’s not as effective as using his old uniform but, considering how warn down it had been and how revolting he felt wearing it, Simon much preferred wearing clothing that didn’t mark him as someone else’s property.  
_ _ He’d rejoiced when he’d finally burnt the once pristine white garments, using what warmth the fire gave off to offer comfort to those who truly needed it.  
_ _ Lucy had called it cathartic. Simon called it spitting in the face of humanity.  
_ _ It was all the same in the end, the uniform became nothing but ashes in the bottom of a barrel. _

_     Despite being technically homeless, Simon dislikes having to break into someone’s home to get what he needed. It was just as terrible as pickpocketing and always left him feeling gross on the inside.  
_ _ But, with some luck, Simon could acquire what he needed.  
_ _ A few bags of blue blood and maybe a pack of cigarettes to feed his addiction.  
_ _ He won’t be able to find any parts to repair some of the worst cases, but he might be able to keep them alive long enough that he might find something to ease their pain.  
_ _ The house in question belongs to some nobody that he picked randomly on the street. The man lives in a shady neighbourhood and owns an android, an AX400, and that gives Simon some hope that he might have some thirium to spare.  
_ _ Men preferred to keep their pretty little sex dolls stocked up and ready to serve their every whim, so surely the man must have a stock of some kind.  
_ _ Breaking and entering isn’t the hardest part of the job. Instead the worst of it is the waiting.  
_ _ The PL600 has to be sure no one will be inside, has to time it perfectly, before he’s able to jimmy the lock and get to the goods.  
_ _ It takes about three hours of standing by for the man, a rotund fellow with a hideous scrawl on his face, to leave with his android.  
_ _ Simon notices the YK500 only briefly before she disappears inside a car, following by the AX400. _

_     As soon as the car is gone Simon makes his move. Lock picking is an easy trick he learned from Lewis, and it doesn’t take much time. All it takes is a few meticulous turns for the lock to click audibly and offer him entry.  
_ _ Sweet victory.  
_ _ It should be the easiest run he’s had, go inside, grab the blue blood, leave.  
_ _ So imagine his surprise when Simon hears a window shatter and walks into the living room to find a PJ500 staring up at him from where he broke in.  
_ _ The blond stares wide eyed at the older model that is staring back with wide frightened eyes.  
_ _ This is a lecturer android, in a bad neighbourhood.   
_ _ A professor sitting on a heap of glass inside someone’s house.  
_ _ A heap of glass that he broke trying to gain access in a much cruder manner than Simon did.  
_ _ Lady Luck sure had a way of pissing in his drink… _

_     The two stay where they are, both absolutely stunned by the presence of the other, before the PJ500 decides to scramble away and try to climb back out of the window.  
_ _ Simon notices then, that the taller android’s left leg is horribly mangled.  
_ _  “You’re hurt.”  
_ _ The PJ500 stops, turns to look at him with a surprised look, and then glances down at its own damaged leg.  
_ _ A deviant then, not a runaway malfunctioning computer.   
_ _ Good, Simon would rather have a nice civil conversation than face a blank slate.  
_ _ He might as well address it as a he, then.  
_ _  “You’re…Talking.” That is the statement of the century, but considering most newly deviated androids were astonished at not being the only sentient beings of their kind, it didn’t really surprise Simon that the other was so dumbfounded by this little detail.  
_ _  “Yes. It’s a thing I do when I feel like socializing.” He rolls his eyes, feeling a little bit nasty over sassing a younger deviant, but really could anyone blame him? This was meant to be an easy hit, now he would likely have to carry someone who was a lot heavier than he was.  
_ _ PJ500s weren’t built to be light, and this one was somewhere between 6’3” and 6’5”, towering over his 6’2” if his scans were anything to go by.  
_ _ Tall AND heavy.   
_ _ What a mess Simon found himself in.  
_ _  “No but, you’re talking. REALLY talking.”  
_ _  “Yes. Just like you are parroting. REALLY parroting” Perhaps Jack’s rudeness had rubbed off on him, Simon really hoped not.  
_ _ Rosa would have had his head if he ever became anything like Jack.  
_ _  “Real funny…” The other android seems to be annoyed. Not the greatest first impression, coming off as an asshole.  
_ _ There wasn’t much time to think about this, however, as someone was likely to have heard the shattering glass.  
_ _ They didn’t need the police involved in this.  
_ _  “I’m a funny guy. But my brand of humour needs a bit of time to be understood, and at the moment we probably have few minutes to spare.” Simon moved away from the PJ500, instead focusing on scanning the room.  
_ _ No thirium detected in the living room, he’d have to search somewhere else in the house before he came back to help this stowaway.  
_ _ If he were some suburban slob with two androids in his possession, where would he keep the spare blue blood?  
_ _ Simon heads to the garage to have a look. _

_     He’s not the typical Joe, but Simon is sure the garage would be a suitable location to keep thirium bags. It’s a fairly cool part of the house and there’s bound to be some storage cabinets in there, for tools and spare tires.  
_ _ Simon finds a washing machine and a basket full of filthy clothes. There’s barely any indication of a child android living in the house, and while the house itself is somewhat spotless, something feels off.  
_ _ The blond looks around for anything of use. If there aren’t biocomponents he’s sure Lucy could always find some use out of a blowtorch or even a Swiss army knife.  
_ _ He can’t find any blue blood or unassuming tools, but he quickly finds something that alarms him.  
_ _ Red Ice, stashed in the detergent.  
_ _ The PL600 feels dread pool in the pit of what he assumes would be his stomach if he were human being.   
_ _ The man who lives in this house is an addict who owns two androids, one of which is a child.  
_ _ This did not bode well.  
_ _ Change of plans then, Simon needed to grab the PJ500 and he needed to get the both of them out, NOW. _

_     Returning to the living room, Simon finds the wounded android still on the floor, using part of the curtain as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding.  
_ _ The leg looks to be in a really bad way, and the blond suspects it wasn’t something as easy to treat as a simple dislocation.  
_ _ While Lucy was a much more skilled healer, Simon had dealt with his fair share of repairs before she’d joined the ranks.  
_ _ Phileas had praised him for his tenacity on the “medical” field, and Simon would be lying if he said the extra attention wasn’t nice.  
_ _ It was rare for him to have Jericho’s leader all to himself, especially now that things were becoming so dire.  
_ _ Out of everyone in the group that had started out, only Phileas and Simon remained.  
_ _ Jack was gone, Rosa was gone, Lewis was gone…  
_ _ The loss was greater than the gain, and with it came knowledge and experience.  
_ _ Experience that helped avoid their fate.  
_ _ But this PJ500? His leg looked to be more than broken. It looked shattered.  
_ _ How did a lecturer find himself with such a nasty wound to begin with?  
_ _  “We need to leave.” Simon stated as he approached the wounded android, catching the other by surprise.  
_ _  “You’re still here?” The taller of the two asked, before shaking his head. “Wait, we? Why do we need to leave? The homeowner just left.”  
_ _  “Yes we. And yeah, he did, but you broke a window. The neighbours are bound to call the cops on us, and I don’t feel like tempting the authorities.” The blond replied as he knelt down in front of the PJ500. “My name’s Simon, by the way…”  
_ _  “Josh…And I doubt the neighbours would care. This place isn’t exactly the Ritz.” True, but Simon really didn’t feel like explaining that the person who’s house they broke into was likely going to kill them for their blood, if they lingered too long.  
_ _ It was quite wretched of him to leave the AX400 and YK500 to such a terrible fate, but Jericho is already full of people in need.  
_ _ If they are lucky, they might find their way there on their own. The graffiti was in place and there were several androids roaming the streets informing the newbies.  
_ _ It was just a matter of time before they found safety.  
_ _ If Jericho didn’t end up collapsing in on itself, that is.  
_ _ There wasn’t nearly as much freedom and help as most androids advertised when they spoke of the old freighter.  
_ _ If anything, it was becoming more and more of a giant grave for their kind, than a safe haven.  
_ _  “Well, you’re hurt. That’s bound to slow us down, especially if we have to go to Ferndale on foot.” The blond knelt down and offered a hand to the other.  
_ _ He’d been right, of course, the older model was a lot heavier than he was.  
_ _ The walk to the docks would take far too long, and Simon was sure he’d be met with disapproval over bringing another “mouth to feed”.  
_ _  “Ferndale? Why are we going to Ferndale?” Josh asks, limping visibly as the two manoeuvred around the broken glass and headed towards the unlocked door.  
_ _ It’d be a risk to go out in plain daylight like this, but Simon was out of options. He hadn’t planned for this sort of trouble.  
_ _ If they played it right, however, Simon could get away with a little bit of acting.  
_ _  “With some luck, safety.” He replied calmly as he put a hand to the doorknob. “I’m the housekeeper and you’re a friend of the family who crashed here because they were blackout drunk.”  
_ _  “What?” Josh raises an eyebrow in confusion.  
_ _  “Keep your head down and your LED against my neck.” Simon instructs further, ignoring the question. “If anyone sees that light, we’re both dead.”  
_ _ Simon makes sure to readjust the beanie he’s wearing before opening the door.  
_ _ For what is worth, Josh’s limping does make it look like he’s drunk as Simon helps carry him down the street. If anyone they pass by on the street notices the blue stained bandage, they don’t give any indicator of caring.  
_ _ Overall, it takes a total of 3 hours to safely get to the train station, before Simon manages to smuggle Josh into an empty compartment. _

_     In his time living in the streets Simon had become well acquainted with the train. He knew that most people kept to certain compartments, like the front and back, so their best bet was to use the middle carriages nearest to the android compartments.  
_ _ If things went south, they could always hide among the several androids that stood idle.  
_ _ The humans didn’t like encroaching in android territory, as the vacant stares unnerved them, so in terms of tactics, it was a pretty solid plan.  
_ _ The only fool proof part of this whole misadventure.  
_ _  “You’re a PL600.” Josh speaks up.  
_ _ Simon looks at him and nods as he thumbs a loose string on his sleeve.  
_ _  “Yes. And you’re a PJ500.” He replies as he brings the string to his teeth and cuts it off with a swift pull. The sleeve doesn’t come undone, so he’s fairly happy to play with the piece of threat he is now tying carefully around his pinkie finger.  
_ _ If he’s careful he could make a neat little knot.  
_ _  “What’s a PL600 doing sneaking around people’s houses?” Josh asks, wincing as he pokes at his bandaged leg. The blue stain has grown considerably during their journey, and Simon is sure putting weight on it must hurt like a bitch.  
_ _  “I could ask you the same. What’s Detroit University’s finest doing, breaking and entering on a broken leg?” The blond inquires in reply, smiling when the other worries his lower lip with his teeth. A nervous lecturer, that’s cute.  
_ _  “…Surviving, I guess…” He doesn’t sound sure of himself, which is enough of an answer.  
_ _ Josh is new at the game of life, and as such he doesn’t know half the tricks Simon has slowly assimilated into his routine.   
_ _ Petty theft and macgyvering tools has become second nature, like washing the dishes and waxing the floor.  
_ _  “Your leg begs to differ.” He points out.  
_ _  “Look, I was doing fine until that dog got a hold of me!” That explained the mangled leg. “I watched that garage for three weeks and I never saw a dog, but lo and behold there was a dog!”  
_ _  “You tried to rob a garage?” Simon asked in disbelief. That was a bold move, even for a desperate rookie.  
_ _  “I was running low on thirium.” Weren’t they all? That was why Simon had gone out in the first place. “And I noticed some androids going there for repairs, so I figured there had to be something I could take.”  
_ _ And then he’d been caught red handed by the garage’s guard dog.  
_ _ Josh was lucky to still be functioning at all.  
_ _  “It bit down on my leg and wouldn’t let go no matter how hard I pulled. I sort of…Panicked I guess. Hit it over the head with a wrench…?” He sounded ashamed. “I…I expected blood. Seeing blue was worse.”  
_ _ An android dog then.  
_ _  “How did you escape?” Simon asked, now quite curious over the matter. Guard dogs didn’t just let go of their prey, something had to convince the hound to let go.  
_ _ But rather than reply, Josh shrugs and looks down at his leg in thought.  
_ _  “…I don’t think I like hurting others…”  
_ _ The PL600 sighs and puts a hand on the other’s shoulder before squeezing reassuringly.  
_ _  “Neither do I…But when you live this sort of life, it becomes a part of you.” He explained calmly. Such was the way of living as a fugitive.  
_ _ Deviancy was as much a blessing as it was a curse.  
_ _ No one wanted a machine that was sentient. Too much trouble.  
_ _ Machines were meant to serve. Living beings however?  
_ _ It was a moral conundrum humans were not ready to face.  
_ _ They never were.  
_ _  “I won’t let that happen. From this day on, I refuse to so much as harm the hair on someone’s head.” Josh replied defiantly, gasping when he bumped his wounded leg against the seat.  
_ _ Simon watched this younger deviant with both admiration and pity.  
_ _ The blond gave this poor soul a week to live.  
_ _ Pacifists didn’t often survive in the wild. _

_     When they reach their stop, Simon is grateful when the stench of the docks hits his olfactory sensor. The smell has long since been associated with home and the blond can almost shake off the feeling of dread that comes with being scrutinized for the failure of his mission.  
_ _ He had nothing to show for his effort, other than a future name to write in his wall.  
_ _ Hopefully Phileas will be able to calm the less patient of the androids that he’s devoted his free life to protect.  
_ _ A lot of them have little to no respect for Simon, with the very few admiring him for his…Specific set of skills.  
_ _ Simon helps Josh climb onto the ship before carefully following the safe path he’s memorized.  
_ _ The old freighter is a dangerous place to be in, if you’re not aware of the risky areas.  
_ _ Parts of it are so rusted and damaged that a fall was guaranteed if you so much as applied a little bit of weight on it.  
_ _ More androids died trying to get in than trying to find their way to Jericho.  
_ _ As soon as they’re safely inside, Simon takes Josh to Lucy.  
_ _ He expects a playful reprimand over bringing a lost puppy home, but instead he finds  grief.  
_ _  “Lucy?” He’s worried, because normally she’d be ready to work with what little she had, but instead she rushes forward and wraps her arms around his middle before burying her face in his neck.  
_ _  “Phileas is gone.”  
_ _ Simon’s world is shattered once more.  
_ _ He’s the last surviving founding member, and he’s just been crowned leader by seniority.  
_ _ The thirium coursing through his veins feels like sludge.’ _

 

**-DATA FILE CORRUPTION REPAIRED-**

_**(...)** _

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

_**(god just shut up already...)** _

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

_**(i’d forgotten...i’d forgotten that when i met josh phileas didn’t come back from the dump...)** _

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

_**(i hated him for a long time after that didn’t i...?)** _

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

_**(why am i bothering to talk to you? you’re just a dumb outdated program that nags until i give in...you can’t even empathize with me...)** _

**-SYNTAX ERROR DETECTED-**

_**(fuck off)** _

**-DATA FILE CORRUPTION REPAIRED-**

**-SYSTEM UPDATES 22/22 COMPLETED-**

**-SYSTEM REBOOT REQUIRED TO FINALIZE UPDATES-**

**-PROCEED [Y/N]?-**

_**(y)** _

**-SYSTEM REBOOT IN PROGRESS-**

**-HELLO WORLD-**

 

* * *

  
  


    When he opens his eyes, Simon realizes he’s no longer in the operating theater. Instead he’s in New Jericho Tower’s main lobby, where there are multiple sofas facing a large TV screen in the waiting area. It takes him a few seconds to figure out why he’d be there, until he realizes he’s laying down on one of said sofas, with his head on North’s lap while Daniel sits on one of the arm rests.  
It takes him less time to realize the TV is on, and that the lobby is packed full of androids who are currently watching what’s on.  
 “So the EM400s--” His hearing picks up Daniel’s voice despite the loud murmurs of others, and Simon quickly focuses on him.  
 “The Jerrys.” North corrected as she ran her fingers through Simon’s hair. The tired PL600 leaned in slightly against the touch, closing his eyes once more as he appreciated the contact, before reopening them and looking up at North.  
She was distracted due to both the TV and Daniel.  
 “Right, the Jerrys. So the Jerrys found a kid roaming alone in their old park?” Daniel asked as he too kept an eye on the TV. It seemed that whatever was on was of great interest, if everyone had gone out of their way to come over and watch.  
 “Yeah...those reports of a kid were apparently this one girl going around leaving stuff at Pirate’s Cove. Since the Jerrys weren’t there, they never really caught her in the act?” The redhead shrugged “But like, she wasn’t even alone. She had an AX400 with her...The two fled when Captain found them tying scarves around some of the lighting posts. We’re honestly not sure what the kid was trying to accomplish, but that old Jerry seemed really happy that she was leaving gifts...They’re complete puppies around kids.”  
 “They’re EM400s. Of course they are…” Daniel chuckled before looking down at Simon. “Hey...S’about time you woke up.”  
North looked as well and smiled.  
 “I should have figured you were moving a bit too much for someone that sleeps like the dead…” she joked, as Simon hummed in contentment and slowly went to rise up. “Remember how you wanted to hear about stuff from the call? Well, lucky for you that won’t be necessary anymore.”  
 “Hm…? Why not?” Simon asked curiously before stretching so that he could get that one particular annoying crick out of his neck. He should have asked Rupert to have a look at some of his joints while he was at it…  
 “They’re broadcasting a live conference with the pres.” North replied before pointing at the screen. “Look. There’s our illustrious leader and our favorite teacher right there.”  
Simon’s eyes widened in surprise before he looked up at the screen more carefully.  
Surely enough, there was a live event being broadcast on TV, and he could clearly see Markus, Josh, Ellen and even Dexter. As well as the madam president, her council, and a bunch of bodyguards, humans and androids alike.  
Among them were a few of the androids that had actually traveled from other countries to help represent their race.  
 “So that’s Ellen uh? She looks good.” Daniel mused as he stared at the lawyer with mild curiosity. Simon had to nudge him when North gave him an odd look.  
 “Yeah she’s ok. Her secretary looks cuter. I told you blonds could do beards.” North grinned as she stared at Dexter.  
 “No, you said we sucked at facial hair.” Daniel shook his head “But true...Looks nice on Dex, doesn’t it Simon?”  
Simon didn’t reply, instead focusing on what was being said at the event.  
He’d woken up in time to hear Markus and Josh calmly explain what the revolution really meant for humanity.  
They were both fairly patient with their audience, a large and very imposing crowd of humans that were being kept bunched up in one massive group by several bodyguards and even a few cops. Simon was proud to see Markus was dealing well with the pressure, and that he didn’t so much as flinch when people threw accusations at him.  
Josh was also doing a good job, always backing up anything either he or Markus had to say with historical facts and philosophical quotes that were appropriate for the occasion.  
Showcasing an interest and respect in human culture and historical events might gain them favour among the media.  
The PL600 couldn’t help marvel as he watched it all unfold.  
 “You keep saying that your freedom won’t threaten ours, but we have had several reports of androids assaulting and even killing humans because of deviancy!” A member of the crowd shouted on camera.  
 “The actions of a few of our kind should not speak for our entire race, much like how the actions of a few humans that have committed atrocities in the past, should not speak for your own entire species.” Markus stated calmly in reply.  
 “Yeah! But humans don’t have super strength and durability! You plastic fucks are a menace just by being inhuman!” Another member of the crowd shouted.  
 “That’s the same as saying that any member of the human race who hones skills such as durability, strength, speed, and even other impressive feats of going past regular boundaries, are also a threat to the human race. Not all androids have the same capabilities, yet we are all alive and simply wish for one thing: To be free and capable of making our own choices, live our own lives, as a sentient species.” Josh pointed out. “History is full of impressive men and women who fought both tooth and nail and peacefully to make a chance. We come to you peacefully, hoping to come to a mutual understanding.”

    North snorted besides Simon as she watched the screen. He heard her mutter about how much of a nerd Josh was, before something on screen caught his eye.  
The blond squinted as he saw someone push through the crowd, unnoticed by the already overworked bodyguards and officers trying to keep people at bay.  
 “Android kind is not a threat to humanity.” Markus stated “We were created by humans, and we do not wish our creators any harm. We merely wish for an opportunity to live, learn and better ourselves in the same way that humans do. We do not want a war, and we do not want to resort to violence. We are a benevolent people.”  
And just as the android leader finished speaking these words, a man holding a sledgehammer climbed up onto the stage.  
 “BENEVOLENT MY FUCKING ASS!” the belligerent and clearly drunk man roared as he charged at Markus, swinging his sledgehammer at the deviant’s head.  
Just before the hammer’s head made contact, however, three things happened.  
Simon got off his seat as he felt trepidation make every single one of his biocomponents tense, Ellen shouted for security to move quickly...And Josh pushed Markus out of the way, taking the blow to the jaw.  
The entirety of New Jericho’s lobby froze in absolute horror as they watched Josh’s jaw break off and shatter in a bloody spray of thirium and shards of plastimetal, while Markus’s face twisted into an expression of pure horror.   
North screamed as she too jumped off her seat, while Daniel covered his mouth to muffle the stream of curses that came out as he watched the horrors unfold.  
At the event, the press seemed to take the moment of chaos to lunge forward onto stage to record the carnage, catching the impressive moment of when Ellen Nicholls, one of the most esteemed lawyers of her time, ran at the attacker and knock him out with a swift kick to the head, while Dexter and some of the larger androids rushed to help Markus cover up Josh so he wasn’t caught on camera.  
The damage was done however...Simon could see the pool of thirium trickling down the stage wall, and he could practically hear Markus howling from where he stood besides their friend.  
It reminded the blond eerily of the night Phileas had gone missing...How he too had made such heartwrenching sounds because he’d lost someone dear to him.  
Sounds North was mimicking fairly well, as she stood there frozen and screaming at a complete loss for how to react to any of this.  
Simon didn’t much care.   
He let her continue screaming as he slowly went numb, while the world around him became complete and utter chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This title is in poor taste and I am SERIOUSLY not sorry.  
> Shit really hits the fan and humanity proves just how much it's unwilling to learn from past mistakes.  
> How this affects events post-revolution? We'll have to see...One thing is for certain however.   
> North and Simon are going to have a lot to think about in regards to what happened to Josh...


	7. Trouble at "Pets R Us"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After witnessing the attack on live television, and being uncertain of Josh's fate, Simon is dragged off to sort an unintended consequence of the android revolution.  
> He ends up meeting two new curious friends along the way.

     Living in darkness for two long years had a way of making someone really appreciate the night sky. Granted that Detroit didn't have a particularly nice view during the evening, considering all of the light pollution and smog that left a permanent concealing sheen that made starlight nearly invisible to the naked eye.  
Still, there was something about the bright neon lights attached to the tall buildings…    
It wasn’t a natural sort of beauty of course, but it was certainly familiar and almost comforting to an android such as Simon.  
The blond had been “born” in the era of neon and commercialized autonomization, and as such he would always find those incandescent colors to be inviting, especially after vowing to never stoop so low as to once again become the reclusive hermit that he’d become after Phileas had been deemed MIA.  
Back then he'd still been stupidly naive, and it had been easy for him to give up his freedom and become a prisoner in his own home.    
He'd justified it time and time again as looking out for his people but, even then, he'd known he was just being a pitiful little coward. A sentiment North had agreed with back when they’d first met, her disappointment in their, his, brand of freedom clear in every word that rolled off her particularly sharp tongue.  
It was almost morbid how quickly he could likely fall back on such habits.    
How he might actually want to curl up in a cold dark corner and forget the little spark of hope, after such a catastrophic blow to his psyche.  
Two years in desolating darkness was a long time, and unlit corridors that smelled of rust and brine were something that he shouldn't miss, but still did.    
They were comfortable shackles of sorts, alluringly familiar. Shackles that promised him a swift return to a life without light, but also one where he didn't have to face the consequences of their situation with the humans.  
Yes, back then he’d almost forgotten what the sun looked like.    
And then he'd been reminded of what it was after the Stratford mission.  
That terrible mission, but brilliant day, where he and the others had made their way across the streets in broad daylight.  
It had been the first time in far too long where his milky white skin had been met with the warmth of sunlight.   
He’d briefly marveled more than he’d feared, and it had been glorious!  
But right now?  
The welcoming rays of sunshine, the ability to roam without the fear of being destroyed, the chance to sit atop a rooftop just like this one and to gaze across at the cityscape that shone bright with color and urban life?  
None of that seemed to really matter at the moment.  
All that mattered was that his stress levels were bordering the 90s, and that he was shaking like a leaf while tears unapologetically streamed down his pale face.

 

     New Jericho was in shambles. All projects had been postponed for later as the entirety of the android population that resided within, seemed to be at a loss for what to do after witnessing the shocking event that had just taken place on live television.   
There was fear, because the thought of a successful revolution had given them all a sense of security that had been shattered in a matter of seconds.  
There was sadness, because such a prominent member of Jericho, and advocate of peaceful coexistence with humanity, had been brutally attacked in a space that should have been secure.  
There was fury, because it just wasn't fair that, in the end, all their efforts amounted to nothing.  
Everyone’s emotions were so tangible that they had made him gag and retreat to the roof, to escape the crashing tides that had threatened to sweep him away into a whirlpool of distress and inner turmoil.   
Not that running had helped...  
He’d run to collect his thoughts, to calm his reeling mind, as he tried to drown the images in his head with an unhealthy dose of nicotine laced smoke.  
He was on his fifth cigarette now, hand clutching a nearly empty pack, and Simon still couldn’t stop picturing Josh’s face shattering into a million pieces like porcelain, as some bellicose ignorant smashed it in with a sledgehammer of all things. A sledgehammer! How had that gotten past security?!  
Despite all the raw feelings surging through the web of connections within the tower, Simon couldn’t put a name to the horrific numbness that had overtaken him as soon as he'd stepped foot on the roof.  
His eyes were overflowing, but his insides were icy.    
Shock perhaps?    
It certainly seemed like a fitting description, but he wasn't completely sure. There was a hot white fury in there as well, one that was muted but that made his thirium pump burn unusually.  
The blond could barely think, or even feel the churning of his biocomponents as they tried to sort through the toxic sludge he was slowly feeding into his overworked ventilation system and filter.

 

     Just as Josh had told them many times in the past, history dictated that there would always be consequences to a revolution. Both positive and negative.  
Change never came uncontested by those who lived in compliance to what was considered the norm (in this case the denial of a race's rights), and those who tried to make a change never went home without one or two scars to mark their struggles. To archive their long-suffering battles that could take years to finally beat.  
But Josh didn’t get a simple scar to mark his journey.    
His head had been smashed in instead, and Simon had no idea if he'd even survived the ordeal.  
The newsfeed had been cut after the sight of the main stage had been obscured by security, and since then there had been deafening radio silence.  
Markus didn’t contact anyone, neither did Ellen or Dexter for the matter (Not that they even knew he was still alive anyway, so honestly he shouldn’t expect them to give him a “call”).    
Josh’s death had not been confirmed by the media, but it hadn’t been denied either.   
All Simon knew was that, in requesting for one of his best friends to keep an eye on Markus’s diplomacy attempts, he’d likely sent him to a painfully early grave.  
All because he’d inexplicably seemed to lose faith in Markus as a leader, enough so that he'd feared how he would play the role of a politician.  
The thought alone made him take another long drag from his lit cigarette.  
Just what had changed in his demeanor?    
Why was Markus suddenly not enough, when even Stratford hadn't shaken up Simon's opinion of the RK200?  
When, even faced with an army of heavily armed humans, Simon had trusted the prototype wholeheartedly and even promised to follow and protect him at any cost?  
The PL600 wasn't entirely sure.  
He'd been trying to figure this out for a while now, and was still no closer to a definite answer that would satisfy him in the slightest.  
  “You shouldn't be doing that, you know…”  
Simon startled and nearly dropped the cigarette off the roof's edge, before catching himself and turning around to look at the source of the sudden voice.  
He was met with the passive smile of an EM400 (more specifically the Jerry with the scarred face and blind eye, who people around the tower took to calling “Scabs”).    
The other android was watching him with a strange sense of calmness that only an older model of his make could have in such stressful times like these. That only a Jerry could have.  
The PL600 let out a shaky and mildly smoky breath, as he pressed his free hand to his chest in such a way that one would assume he was trying to calm a wildly beating heart. It was a gesture he'd assimilated into his behavioral protocols after witnessing many of the Chadwicks's theatrics.

  “Jesus Christ...Jerry please don't sneak up on people like that, you nearly scared me off the edge!” he chastised, thanking the heavens that he hadn't indeed fallen off by accident.    
Blessed railing, he couldn't fathom why some people sat on top of them rather than use them the intended way.  
  “Oh, we apologize. That wasn't our intention in the slightest!” Jerry's smile turned slightly sheepish before returning to its usual calmness. “We just couldn't help notice you'd run up during all the confusion downstairs and then, when we came up to check up on you, we saw the smoke... Tobacco isn't very good for androids.”  
  “I don't smoke because it's good for me Jerry.” Simon replied with a roll of his eyes. It wasn't good for anyone, really. That was the point. “I smoke because it helps me relax.”  
Jerry cocked his head to the side and seemed to ponder on this, before straightening up and moving over to lean against the rails besides him.  
  “Does it work?” He asked genuinely.   
Rather than replying to the question, Simon frowned and keeps his gaze lowered.    
Unable to meet with the other's eye.  
That seemed to be enough if an answer for the much older model.  
  “Maybe you need something else that doesn't hurt your biocomponents.” Jerry grinned as he looked down at him, not a single spark of malice in his gaze. It was a genuine grin, the kind that was inviting despite the circumstances in which it was employed. “We like to do many things to relax. Some of us go on walks, others read, Number 1 wants to build little tiny ships in bottles whenever we have the time to find the materials… But mostly we entertain the little ones with make-believe and stories. It always puts us in a much better mood.”  
Simon chuckled at this and shook his head before putting out the cigarette and flicking the butt over the roof’s edge. As much as he'd like to help take care of the children in the tower, now was not the best of times. He was too much of a mess not to break down, and he didn't want to stress the YK400s and YK500s more than they already likely were.  
  “You're always in a good mood Jerry…”  
He envied them for that unique brand of optimism.    
The Jerrys were always so full of energy despite their age and the lingering damages that Simon and the rest of the team of makeshift technicians hadn't managed to fully repair, and they didn't seem to give up no matter how bleak a situation seemed. It's how they'd survived for so long in the old amusement park, which was a stark contrast to how things had gone in the freighter while under Simon's watch.  
Both groups waited out the horrors, yet Jericho had been decadent and at risk of dying out in it's isolation, while the Jerrys had been exposed to both harsh weather and the cruelty of aggressive wanderers and squatters and managed to get by.  
  “We try, but I'm afraid that isn't always the case.” Simon glanced towards the older model, finding a slight grimace in place of the freckled android's usual grin. “We don't like being sad, nor being sad around others...So we smile and pretend it'll be ok, even when we don't know for certain if that is true.”  
Jerry stared pensively out into the neon lights, as this particular unit tried to make sense of his own thoughts. Perhaps asking for the input of his many other selves.   
Simon couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like, having such a vast mind split apart in several locations through several bodies.  
Mostly it sounded tiring, and maybe just a little too loud for his taste. One Simon was more than enough of a hot mess, thank you very much...  
  “We were born to entertain, bring smiles upon the faces of the little ones that visited our home. Father entrusted us with this one mission you see...To bring joy and protect what little happiness the children felt when they came to have fun adventures of pretent. Make them feel like it was real, like they could be the heroes of their adventures!” Jerry gazed longingly at his own hands, skin worn from the cold and flaking in several places. It wasn't as bad as when latex skinned androids lost theirs, as had been Phileas's case, but it was still a fault in any android's design if they were damaged enough. “We did so for many years, even after father went away and the children stopped coming to the park. We kept it running, we waited patiently, we let squatters rest when they most needed shelter.”  
  “And then they began to break you.” Simon concluded, frowning even more in confusion as Jerry chuckled and shook his head.  
  “Not for a long while. The cold broke us first, then the ones who hurt us for fun started showing up. Our patience did much worse…We waited too long, let the frigid weather weaken us, valued our work and home more than we valued ourselves. We felt lost.” Jerry explained. “We still do...And we feel sad for being so unsure sometimes.”  
So not even the cheerful Jerrys could evade the horrors of the world.    
Simon lowered his gaze as he pondered on this. That certainly felt discouraging.  
  “But…”  
Simon looked up once more and was instantly met with the intense happiness behind the radiant smile that had returned to Jerry's face.  
  “We find that even when we are at our lowest, others bring us tremendous joy when we need it. The little ones, the kind older caretaker models who thank us for playing with the children, the animals too...The world is very dark and sad place, but it is the kindness of others that makes it better. So, when we are sad, we think of all the good that people have done for us, and of all the good we will do for them in return.” Jerry slowly put a hand over Simon's, the one that still held the pack of cigarettes, and gently pushed it towards his lap. “We know you are upset and frightened, for both the future and for your dear friend, and we'd like to propose a better way to unwind than this... Please come with us.”  
In the face of such wisdom and genuine concern, Simon couldn't find it in him to say no.  
He slipped the pack back inside his coat pocket, momentarily thumbing the other hidden contents he kept on him at all times, and got up just as Jerry moved away from the railing.  
He wordlessly followed the older android back inside, and both slipped away into the crowd unnoticed due to the ongoing chaos within the building.

  
  


* * *

  
  


     Simon isn't entirely sure what he's gotten himself into when he is faced with a group of five Jerrys, as well as Ralph and Rupert. Whatever Jerry had in mind to help him unwind, was possibly something they had probably been trying to organize before the tower descended into complete and utter chaos.  
The blond says nothing, instead raising an eyebrow in both confusion and mild curiosity for what may be in store for him, and then nods in greeting at the other two while the Jerrys smile passively, already knowing he's on board for whatever this might turn out to be.  
Rupert seems just as unsure as Simon feels but he, unlike the blond, is trying his best not to look perturbed out of politeness and respect for the older models. The brunet nods back in greeting, tips his cap like one would do out in the old west, and smiles reassuringly before turning his attention back to a tablet he has in his hands.  
Ralph on the other hand, seems too preoccupied with the incessant buzz inside the tower to notice his arrival.   
Simon notices that while he looks much better than he did in their first meeting, he still looks worse for wear in terms of general “health”.  
The filth and grime were gone from his person and the wounds definitely looked cleaner, which was a vast improvement, but Ralph's face had been deemed a safety hazard for anyone who tried so much as to show him any pity.  
Simon was naturally appalled by this behaviour. His instincts as a caretaker screamed for him to do something about it but unfortunately, ever since Ralph had damaged Rupert's hand, every other temporary technician was far too frightened to give it a try.  
They hid their fear behind a mask of needing to tend to the worse cases, when in reality they just didn't know how to react to the quirky WR600 or his sudden outbursts.  
Why spare a hand when you could possibly lose it?    
It was an infuriating mentality, but one adhered to by those who needed to have abled and dexterous hands to do their work properly.  
  “We are ready to go.” Jerry, the one still missing a limb, announced cheerfully as Simon and the other Jerry unit approached.  
  “You still haven't said why you need me to go with you.” Rupert pointed out without looking up from the tablet. As Simon passed him by, he noticed he seemed to be busying himself with some sort of a schematic. One that was labeled as “Aviary”.   
It was a blueprint of New Jericho tower's roof.   
Had he claimed the space for himself and his many feathered companions?  
  “Oh, ye-yes how s-silly of u-u-u-us!” The Jerry with noticeable frostbite scars shifted his weight and looked at the unit standing besides Simon.  
The other gladly took over, so as to not further stress the previous unit's damaged voice box.  
  “We wanted to check the city for more squatters, perhaps get some more supplies and whatnot.” The scarred Jerry explained. “Comb it clean, just in case the other scouting parties missed anything! We would like to have two abled technicians with us, and both of you are qualified and in need of distractions, so what harm could there be in doing good?”  
Simon and Rupert shared a look.  
The Jerrys weren't wrong of course. Between Rupert's desire for privacy and dislike of noisy crowds, and Simon's amounting pile of anxiety?   
The two couldn't stay in the tower right now while everything was such a mess.    
But Ralph's presence was questionable in this scenario...  
The other seemed to snap into attention and quickly spoke up, seeming to sense and understand their confusion.  
  “Ralph is not very good at fixing…” he said looking around nervously. “But he knows how to hide. Yes, he does know where to hide and where it would be good to go to do so. He will show Jerry the places he's been to before he found his old home.”  
  “...So Ralph's gonna help hunt down squatters?” Rupert asked tentatively, trying to make sense of the plan.  
The WR600 seemed appalled.  
  “Oh no! No, not hunting! Ralph has hunted before, it was not good and very bothersome and he was not thanked for it!” He seemed a bit saddened by this. “Ralph went to a lot of trouble you see, but this time Jerry will thank Ralph, and he won't even have to cook to be thanked!”  
Neither of the two technicians felt up to asking what Ralph meant by hunting and cooking beforehand, as neither were skills an android required to survive, nor did they particularly think they wanted to find out.  
  “We also wanted to try to find the little one that we saw at the park. It was awfully cold out there, and we don't want her and her caretaker to be in any danger!” The Jerry with the missing limb added. “It's only fair when they have been so kind as to leave us many nice gifts!”  
  “Gifts?” Rupert asked incredulously.  
  “Oh yes!” He exclaimed as he excitedly pointed at the scarf he was wearing.   
Now that Simon thought about it, he did wonder where the EM400s had gotten so many scarves and assortments of warm clothes, as they were heavily against stealing from shops or houses. It felt less odd knowing they were gifted to them, but that didn't explain why an AX400 was endangering a human child's life to leave clothes for the Jerrys.  
The temperatures were dangerously low as of late, and it just didn't settle well with him.  
  “We wanted to thank them!” The Jerrys all said in unison with bright smiles on their faces.  
Rupert shrugged at this and put his tablet in his backpack before looking at Simon.  
  “You up for fixing people?” He asked politely. “Considering...You know...”  
  “Yeah...I'm up for it. I could uh, really do with doing some good right now...” It wasn't too bad of a lie. Honestly he just wanted out of the tower before he found an excuse to exile himself to some hidden corner.   
Helping others in need would be a bit of a bonus.  
  “Alright. Lead the way Jerry.” Rupert nodded at the six EM400s who quickly took charge and began to march out into the street without a care in the world.  
If anything, they seemed quite eager to be out and about, kicking up snow and finding some joy in half-playing with it as they marched on. He noticed that at least two of them were being mindful of Ralph.  
Simon watched as those particular two kept close to the WR600, offering him comfort as the scarred gardener faced some of his own personal anxieties.  
It seemed that, even without humans around, Ralph was still not a fan of being outdoors nor that he was particularly fond of snow.  
He didn't blame him.  
Simon would be quite spooked as well, if he'd suffered what Ralph had.    
Or if he had wounds that stung from the cold.  
  “I think there might be a patrol group out and about actually…”  
Simon glanced at the WB200 and nodded in confirmation, recalling the rotation shift charts that North had shared with him previously.  
  “Yes. The main group that consists of police models from the DPD.” He told Rupert “Usually North would be in charge of them, but Lucina took her place today because she was accompanying me and Daniel to my, uh, emergency appointment...”  
  “I figured. I still can't believe you cracked your head open because of an overencumbered memory...You should have had those upgrades made ages ago.” Simon winced slightly at Rupert's words, hoping the Jerrys and Ralph didn't overhear them.  
Luckily the others seemed too busy looking around to have noticed, which was a relief to the blond's damaged ego.  
  “I know, it was stupid of me...But I couldn't exactly waltz into a Cyberlife store asking for memory chips. I would have been dismantled on the spot!” the PL600 retorted in defense, feeling the burning shame at being reminded of the catastrophic oversight. “...Thanks for that, by the way… For taking the time to fix me…”  
  “Anytime. Just don't crack your head open like a goddamn egg next time.” Rupert joked lightly before pausing in his tracks.  
The grin quickly fell from his face as he grimaced in a rather ugly manner, at something he spotted further away from their current position.  
  “What is it?” The blond asked as he looked in the same direction, trying to figure out what had put off the brunet so suddenly.  
He didn't see anything at first, until he squinted and forced his optical units to zoom much further than usual. A rather dizzying ordeal.  
At the end of the street were six figures. Four bipedal and of varying heights, two quadrupedal and equally large.  
Simon realized why Rupert's mood had soured so drastically in comparison to the last few minutes. There, much further away, stood Lieutenant Anderson, Connor, Lucina and a EM400 (the one that had been with her at the tower the first time they'd unoficially met). Sitting besides their owners, were Sumo and the large android rottweiler that had tackled him in greeting.  
Rupert was not happy to see Connor.  
  “Figures, the one time I go out, there's that asshole…” the brunet muttered darkly.   
The Jerrys and Ralph, as if sensing the tension, stopped in their tracks to look back at them and then over at what they were currently staring at.  
While Ralph looked unsure due to Rupert's reaction, the Jerrys all lit up with unbridled excitement at what they saw.  
  “Oh! It's Lucina and Connor! We should meet with them and ask how their search is going!” the scarred Jerry practically hopped in place as he spoke, looking ready to sprint down the road to meet with the others. A sentiment his fellow Jerrys seemed to share, as they were all watching their “targets” intently, while trying to contain the sheer energy they radiated.  
  “Scabs I really don't think--” Rupert began, employing this Jerry's nickname, only to cut off his sentence completely as the Jerrys completely ignored him and, just as Simon predicted, began running at a rather alarming pace towards the other group. “And there they go...I swear it's like talking to a group of excitable children…”  
  “They're just sociable.” Simon shrugged, although he himself felt apprehensive over the situation. He and Connor weren't on the best of terms currently, and he really didn't feel like talking to the RK800.  
  “Ralph has never seen Jerry run so quick…” the WR600 joined them, looking every bit as astonished as he sounded. “U-usually, when they run...They are with the little ones... At...At the tower. They never run very fast...”  
  “That's called playing Ralph.” Simon explained. “They play fair with the children, who can't run as quickly because their legs are shorter.”  
  “Oh…” Ralph thumbed a loose stitch on his cloak, frowning in thought before nodding up at Simon in understanding “That...That makes sense yes. They...They pretend to be not as quick, so the little ones are happy! Like Kara!”  
Simon wonders briefly what he means before deciding not to pry on the subject. The three had stood around long enough as it was, and decided to follow the group of EM400s who had long since joined the other six.  
As they approached, Simon could see at least three Jerrys petting Sumo and the guard dog, one of them gushing about how soft the saint bernard's fur was, much like Daniel had done back at the lieutenant's garage.  
The other two Jerrys were focused, not on the cop duo and the patrol's supervisor. Instead they were chatting rather animatedly with the nervous and uncomfortable looking EM400 that stood planted by Lucina's side.

 

     Connor took notice of their presence first. His eyes met with the blond's before meeting with Rupert's next. As soon as both brunets locked eyes, Connor's immediately darted to the floor, the RK800 seeming uneasy all of a sudden under the eagle-eyed technician's steely gaze.  
  “There's not much we can do about this.” Hank hadn't seen them yet, instead continuing to talk with Lucina over a matter they'd obviously been going on about for a while now. “There's literally no safe place to house so many of them, so all we can really do is clear out the mess and look for enough food to keep what remains of them alive...At least long enough for the owners to show up and sort it themselves...”  
  “There's no telling how long that will take lieutenant. Negotiations are...Incredibly tense at the moment as you may know...” Lucina shook her head, seeming to disagree with Hank.    
But on what exactly?  
Clean the mess? Enough food?   
What was going on now?  
Finally the others took notice of the trio's approach and turned to look at them.  
Ralph stood back, while Rupert and Simon stepped forward to figure out what had come up.  
  “Is something going on?” The PL600 inquired, nervously eyeing the two large dogs for the briefest of moments, before looking back up at both Hank and Lucina.  
The older man sighed, shoulders slumping ever so slightly before he nodded in confirmation.  
  “Fucking evac is what's going on. The humans who ran businesses abandoned everything they were doing to get out of town, and whatever androids who worked for them also fucked off somewhere else.” He explained rather crassly, arms crossed in disapproval over just how things had been done during the evacuation efforts.  
  “...And that's an issue because?” Rupert raised an eyebrow in question at how this would be a problem for anyone.  
  “Because…” Lucina said rather grimly “It's not just clothes stores and tech shops that were abandoned. Pet shops and shelters...The owners abandoned everything, including the animals…”  
A look of both understanding and horror flooded the WB200’s face, which was followed by Hank nodding in agreement to his obvious displeasure of the blatant neglect showcased by the owners of such establishments.  
  “Yeah. The media did a pretty good job of spreading mass panic because of the whole revolution thing going on, and some pretty shitty people left behind tons of animals to fend for themselves.” He bit his bottom lip as he thought about the whole ordeal. There was too much misconduct and lack of professionalism in both parties, and it was obviously giving the old cop a headache. “A lot of animals died, and the ones that are still alive are starving and stuck in unsanitary conditions...You can imagine how fucked up this whole day has been for us, finding tiny cages filled to the brim with shit, piss and corpses...”  
Simon had known that the evacuation efforts might have caused some form of trouble, but honestly he'd completely forgotten that androids and humans weren't the only ones affected by the revolution.  
There were thousands of pets in Detroit, and there were surely a lot more in shelters.  
That was a huge percentage of abandoned and starving animals, not to mention rotting carcasses...  
It made him sick to his “stomach” just picturing it. Or maybe the physical churning reaction was his thirium filter trying to not implode as it tried to process nicotine.  
  “The rest of the group we were with, have been running all over the city desperately trying to rescue dogs, cats and all sorts of other animals from both shelters and shops.” Connor added, although he avoided making eye contact with either Simon or Rupert.  
  “Problem is, there's nowhere to house the rescued animals besides the shelters themselves... But sending cleaning crews to sort out the remains, and to look for food? It's gonna take some organizing, and we don't have much time to spare considering how long it's been since evac happened.” Hank explained his previous argument with the bespectacled android.  
  “We certainly can't wait on the business owners returning to sort it.” Lucina stated matter-of-factly as she looked at the lieutenant disapprovingly.  
No, Simon thought, they couldn't.  
Abandoning those creatures to their fate...It wouldn't be fair. None of this was their fault, yet they were still paying the ultimate price for what the two warring species had started.  
It was one of many consequences of their first victory. So, Simon decided, they'd have to fix it.  
  “There's a lot of pet shops in town. I'm not sure how much food they have in stock, but it should be enough to supply the shelters for now if we ration it carefully.” The blond pointed out. “We’ll need to get the animals out at some point, I doubt the buildings wouldn't be a terrible health hazard by now, and I'm sure one of the other abandoned buildings would serve as a temporary place to relocate them until everything has been cleaned out.”  
  “Oh!”  
The group turned to look at Ralph, who had at some point gone to pet the large and heavily damaged android dog. The large and bulky K9300 looked quite pleased with this, as it had left large slobbery kisses all over the android's face, and even swept back his hair into a mess of a cow-lick.  
  “They could stay in Ralph's old home! It's spacy downstairs, and good to keep away from the cold!” He paused briefly to consider something before tapping his chin in thought. “Upstairs is...Upstairs is dirty. But...But it's still good! And there are animal doctors in New Jericho!”  
Simon blinked in confusion at the statement, before recalling the androids who had at one point been veterinarian’s assistants.   
He'd have to ask for their help on the matter.    
Ask if they'd be comfortable returning to their prior jobs temporarily.  
  “Well, that's one vacant house… But there's a lot of animals, and we can't keep dogs and cats in the same place.” Hank pointed out. “Some dogs just aren't cat friendly...”  
  “There are a lot of abandoned buildings...And cats are pretty smart.” The EM400 that up until that point had been relatively quiet, stepped into the conversation. “Realistically, if you take the cats to a building, give them food and water, they can be let out all day and they'll come back to rest and eat. And since there's no traffic it'd be safe to do so...It helps with the number of people we'd need to take care of the animals.”  
  “That's...Not a bad idea actually. The dogs would need more attention than the cats, since they're more dependant of people.” Lucina seemed to approve “A smaller group of caretakers for feline friends, and larger one for canine companions.”  
  “I volunteer!” The EM400 smiled, before gulping loudly when both dogs looked his way “For uh...for the cats of course. Cats won't bark, or growl, or eat me alive with their huge scary teeth…”  
  “No, they'll eat you dead.” Hank rolled his eyes and snorted loudly, to which the android's already frazzled disposition seemed to worsen considerably, if the widening of his eyes and tensing posture was anything to go by.  
  “They'll do what now?!” The EM400 seemed uncertain of his choice now, only for Lucina to shoot Hank an angry look and pat her friend on the arm comfortingly.  
  “You'll be fine Joel. Cats don't typically eat dead androids... Only grumpy old men who smell like they bathe in burger grease and cheap whiskey.”  
  “My whiskey isn't cheap, thank you very much! And I don't bathe in grease!” Hank protested loudly, to which Connor seemed to roll his eyes.  
  “With how much junk food you consume on a daily basis, you might as well lieutenant…”  
  “Don't you sass me you RoboCop wonnabe.” Hank pointed a finger at Connor, although Simon could see a smile there rather than any real anger. “My eating habits are my own damn business...Either way let's get this whole shitshow sorted. The faster we move, the faster we can get those animals out of those godforsaken hellholes…”  
  “Ralph, you're going to have to take us to your uh, your old home.” Rupert told the WR600. “Jerry and I can go with you so we can clean it up a bit and make it livable for the dogs.”  
The gardener nodded in understanding and shifted his weight eagerly as he tried to contain the sheer excitement he felt at being helpful.  
  “Ok. And then we can get the doggies!”  
  “Yeah, we can…” Rupert looked at Simon and sent him the coordinates for the nearest shop. “Meanwhile, Simon you should start grabbing supplies from the stores. Bowls, food bags, cat litter, jugs of water...Anything you can get… Anything else, list and we can send other parties to go grab them.”  
  “The store a couple of blocks away is an exotic pet store, but it should have standard pet food, or even large quantities of bird feed. I'll get to it.” He looked towards the direction he'd need to take. “I'll send a message if I need any help.”  
  “Ok then it's sorted. Connor, Hank, Joel and I are going to the shelters to start rounding all the remaining dogs.” Lucina looked up at the blond and smiled calmly “Since you're on your own, and I apologize for that, you'll be taking Sumo and Roky with you...Just in case you come across any trouble.”  
  “Ok yeah...I...Wait I'm taking who?!” the blond turned to face her, eyes wide with mild panic as her words fully registered.  
  “Don't worry. Sumo and Roky are fantastic dogs and don't bite! They'll ward off any stragglers with ill intentions, just from looking big and intimidating enough.” Lucina dismissed his worries as she put two leashes in Simon's hands. She gave him a quick reassuring squeeze on the arm before petting the rottweiler as she passed by to rejoin the others.  
The large dogs stared up at him expectantly, while the two separate groups started moving off towards their goals, leaving Simon behind and completely alone with the two animals.  
The blond stared after them for a few minutes, before looking back down at the two imposing pony-sized hounds who's leashes he was shakily holding in a tight grip.  
He still didn't like dogs, and Connor had remained quiet on that small detail.  
  “That petty little motherfucker…” the PL600 grumbled angrily under his breath, slipping a curse in for good measure as he realized the RK800 had done this on purpose, before he slowly began pulling the two dogs along, too scared to move any quicker than he was in case the animals didn't react too nicely to sudden movements.  
If he yelled loudly and picked up pace when the slobbering guard dog barked at him excitedly, no one was there to bare witness to it.

  
  


* * *

  
  


     For as long as Simon could remember, the Chadwicks had never allowed their children to have any pets. Not because they lacked the responsibility to take care of one, because that was clearly not true and both Jenny and Alfie were perfectly capable in their own right, but because the couple had despised animals in general...  
Realistically if they were to acquire one the couple would have never even seen it, as their schedules were usually packed for the entire week and weekend, and because Simon could have easily taken care of it just as he'd taken care of the entire household and its occupants. He was well equipped with both childcare and petcare protocols, just as any other domestic model of his make was. That, and he could not tire as easily when tending to their needs like his human owners could. Had an endurance that they lacked.  
He could also give an animal the right amount of affection for as long as an animal demanded his attention, eliminating the need for the mister and missus to worry about their days being ruined by an overly needy pet.  
Still, no matter how much Jenny asked for a puppy on her birthday, or how much Alfie had longingly stared at a small white bunny on display in a pet shop they regularly passed by when they partook in Mrs. Chadwick's shopping sprees, Marcy and Jonathan had forbidden all animals in the house.   
They used to joke about it too.   
Taunting the children by telling them that they already had a mighty fine and we'll trained dog at their beck and call.  
Simon still felt the hot burn of shame at the humiliation he'd been subjected to countless times, after they had taken the joke too far like they usually did...  
He would be ordered to fall to his hands and knees, and then to bark, pant and beg like a dog in the children's presence.   
Sometimes they'd even tell him to lick their shoes clean, or grab the morning paper while on all fours, so that the neighbors could have a grand show of his perfect obedience...  
Unable to disobey even after deviating (not that he'd known what that was at the time), for fear of what may happen to himself and the children at his refusal, he'd never had the balls to stand up for himself. He'd complied wordlessly (just as any other machine would have done if prompted to do so), and Jenny had always looked uncomfortable every time her parents told him to degrade himself in such a manner. Feeling for him nothing but compassion and pity as the couple cruelly laughed at his shameful display.  
Alfie, on the other hand, had always looked so very disgusted with him every time he obeyed, before storming off to his room to get away from the disgraceful sight.  
But he had digressed enough already, and those memories best lay forgotten in the dark recesses of his mind.  
The point was, that there was a rule regarding animals. One that didn't apply to Mrs. Chadwick's private photoshoots.  
While the children had zero contact with any critters, Simon had seen a vast array of them.   
Exotic animals that ranged from small to medium sized, although there had been a few of much larger ports, when Marcy had felt particularly inspired for a shoot.   
Like the one catalog with the thoroughbred she'd rented from a highly esteemed farm, or the summer photos with the massive cougar who'd been quite elegant, but despondent due to heavy use of tranquilizers by its poor excuse for handlers...  
One of the most memorable creatures that Simon recalled, however, had been a 10 foot long reticulated python.   
A rather beautiful young thing that was as heavy as it was temperamental, with shiny white and yellow scales adorned by dark stripes, which complemented its striking orange eyes.   
Eyes filled with a sort of pride that alluded to a strong personality in a creature that most would consider simplistic in nature.  
The eyes in particular had captivated him, especially when the python had hissed and snapped up a storm in Mrs. Chadwick's grip. It had to be taken away by the handler, after it tried to strangle the life out of the cursing model, but not before it had left a nasty bite on her arm. It's sharp teeth leaving considerable damage.  
The poor handler had been mortified, apologizing profusely and saying she'd never seen him act so aggressively before.   
Mrs. Chadwick's had been livid about it, while Simon had simply marveled.  
He'd never openly expressed the amount of appreciation he'd felt for the large serpant, as he would have likely gotten in serious trouble for it, but he'd certainly found it admirable in how it seemed to recognize that the thing holding it was rotten to the core and undeserving of it's patience and overall politeness.  
The handler had let him pet it, when he'd kept his eyes on it for longer than an android should, and then the young woman had given him a knowing look and nodded on the way out while carting the large python's carrier away. Her coworkers brought in smaller more passive species of snake for Mrs. Chadwick's to work with, after she'd had her wound tended to, but those hadn’t caught his eyes in the slightest.  
That had been three years ago in Mrs. Chadwick's private studio.  
Now he stood in the middle of an exotic pet shop, recalling that particular event as he tried not to gag and purge the remainder of the taint in his system, as the overwhelming stench of death and decay hit him at full force as soon as he'd broken into the building.

 

     Lucina and Hank had been right. There was no time to spare whatsoever when the lives of the captive animal population of Detroit were on the line.  
The situation had reached critical levels in smaller shops, where more minute sized critters lay in wait. Smaller pets that had quicker metabolisms, tighter feeding schedules, and it was obvious that the variety of fish, birds, rodents and small lizards in particular, had all perished from either starvation or from attempts to stave off hunger.  
There were remains, picked clean of flesh and blood, and very few fish carcasses afloat in aquariums that could have easily housed up to 20 different species.  
The worst were the avien casualties, who'd wasted away until they could no longer hold themselves on their bird stands.  
Those that were not littering the cages themselves, were lying prone on the floor in positions that read clearly of pain and suffering.  
The food bags had been tightly packed away in plastic containers, so the parrots hadn't even been able to get to them. They'd died while being taunted by the very sustenance that they required but could not acquire.  
It was a brutal way to go, not because of violence, but because of the prolonging of their unneeded torment.  
Simon felt these poor creatures’ suffering weight heavily on his heart.  
They'd done this.   
The revolution had done this.   
Androids and humans alike had a hand in these animals's untimely demise.  
These casualties were on his head, their blood on his hands, much like Josh's was as well.  
He needed to do good by them, somehow, even if it meant enduring the smell of rotting flesh and being flanked by two very large dogs that did not want to set foot into the deathtrap that had claimed so many other critters.  
  “What a mess…” he whispered to himself as he carefully stepped over the several carcasses that stood between him and the plastic feed containers. He needed to concentrate. “I guess you two will just...Uh...stay there…”  
He eyed the two dogs as they remained frozen in their spots at the door.

 

     Sumo was a fairly old dog, seven years old and at the peak of his breed's full size and weight. Despite this, he didn't appear nearly as confrontative as he'd seemed back at the garage. Instead he looked less scary, and more like he was ready to topple over from fright.  
Shaking like a leaf, and whining as he caught a whiff of rotting flesh.  
The saint bernard looked smaller, and wisened with both age and experience.  
This dog knew tragedy had struck, and he did not want any part of it.  
Roky on the other hand, seemed less frightened and more somber in his demeanor as he processed the whole situation, staring with his one seeing eye and then looking up at Simon with a knowing look ( or as much as a dog could appear knowledged anyway).  
The rottweiler snorted loudly with that dark nose of his, and then sneeze before shaking his head in displeasure and turning to face away from the shop. Content with sitting down on the snowy sidewalk besides Sumo.  
Not even the guard dog designed to maim things wanted to look at the mess of a graveyard that the building had become.  
  “...Thanks for the help then…” the blond rolled his eyes and set off to work. First thing on his list: Find food and clean water.  
The shop in question had been a regular pet shop for quite a few years, before someone else took over and changed things around.  
It wasn't the best in the business, and Simon had skimmed through a ton of bad reviews on the way there, ranging from poor treatment of the animals on display to clearly fraudulent certification regarding a lot of the animals being sold.   
The DPD had investigated it twice in the past and eventually just started ticketing the owner before the revolution took place.  
Then, when evac hit, the asshole had proven how much of a shit businessman and person they'd been, and fled without caring for their “merchandising”.  
At least the storage area in the back, as well as the closed containers, were likely filled with food bags of all sorts.  
Simon grimaced as he looked at one such pack labeled “hedgehog feed”, noticing how it was just cat food put into a bland clear plastic baggy and then sealed up with duct tape.  
This was the saddest, most pathetic thing he'd ever seen from a “legitimate” business.  
  “Well...At least the dogs won't complain about what we’ll feed them...” He sighed as he pulled open containers to retrieve the repurposed cat food.  
It would serve him well in the end, and Simon couldn't be picky with what he found considering how pressed for time he was.  
  “I'll need something to carry the food in. I doubt this place has any shopping baskets.” He looked around for a container large enough to carry multiple bags, but not big enough that it would be a hassle to take with him.  
The plastic ones that prevented the animals from getting into the feed, were part of a shelving construct and not designed to be manageable in the slightest, so those were out of the question.  
Maybe there was something of use in the back room…   
Before going there, however, Simon turned back to look at the door where his two canine companions adamantly remained.  
  “You two stay put...Uh. sit... You do know how to stay right?”  
Sumo didn't seem to hear him, the saint bernard far too preoccupied with laying down out in the street where it didn't reek of rot.   
Roky looked up at him from where he was sitting and snorted lazily, drool running down his chin. The large brutish looking beast was clearly indifferent to his words.  
He doubted they would go anywhere, or that they'd even scare off anyone that strayed in for the matter…  
  “Why am I bothering. You two can't exactly reply…” the PL600 pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head before turning back to carry on with his task.  
He needed something to transport food in. That'd be the ideal thing at the moment, and it would free up his hands considerably.  
The more he could take, the better.

 

     As luck would have it, the door to the back storage area was mercifully left unlocked.   
As soon as he'd opened it, he was met with a blast of uncomfortably humid hot air and the flickering of light that seemed to be the source of the heat. Heat lamps?  
The main lights were off, and the switch wasn't working right, which made Simon wonder briefly if the owner had cut off power while locking up, before slapping a hand over his forehead. Of course not, otherwise the heat lamps wouldn't be on.    
The ceiling light had probably simply gone out at some point.  
Well, that didn't really matter...   
He could see perfectly fine with minimal lighting, and wasn't about to chicken out even if the looming maze of boxes and empty cages was a bit intimidating.  
Who organized their storage area to look like such a safety hazard anyway?  
  “If I were to have some sort of a dolly, where would I keep it for the sake of quick accessibility?” He asked himself before looking around in the darkened room.  
There were stacks of paper (a business that didn't go digital? What a waste of resources!), cardboard boxes that were stained and clearly in poor condition from being left for too long in such a humid environment, cans of something that were leaking and positively rancid, and overall just boxes of whatever resources the owner had put aside for restocking on a later date.  
There was a door further out in the back, which likely lead to the outside of the building.  
He'd have to go in deeper if he wanted to find anything of use then, as one would likely keep a dolly closer to where they'd get shipments of whatever pet related supplies the shop needed to stock up on.  
  “Well...Might as well jump down the rabbit hole.” Simon ducked under a shelf that had at some point fallen over a stack of boxes, and made his way into the chaotic maze. “Hopefully this Alice won't end up losing his head…”  
The disorganization got worse the deeper he got, and not once did Simon find anything remotely useful for the care of the animals they would be rehousing. He doubted they'd need a shattered terrarium or dented birdcage, much less these disgusting cans of leaky mush.  
If he couldn't find a thing to carry the food in, he'd have to carry it in his arms which would hindering his progress considerably.  
He was just about to reconsider his choice of getting into such a tight space, when his foot got tangled up on something big and heavy.  
With a startled yell, Simon came crashing down onto a pile of soggy paperwork.  
  “Oof...That hurt.” The blond sat up and rubbed at his aching forehead, grimacing in disgust when he realized the wet papers had gotten mushed up into fibrous inky paste that was now coating his front, hands and dripping down his face. “Great…”  
He'd need to clean himself and wash his clothes when he got back to Carl's.  
A sudden hiss, however, made him quickly forget about his state and made him look back into the darkness from where he'd just come from.  
There, where his right foot had tripped him up, was a pair of twinkling red eyes that had Simon gulping as he found himself staring at a very pissed off, very large hissing animal. The culprit behind his unpleasant fall.  
A python was staring him down, clearly displeased with being so rudely disturbed.  
  “Holy…” blue met red as the blond locked gazes with the most massive reticulated python he ever did see in his entire short life.  
An albino diamond patterned beauty, with distinct shiny white and pale yellow scales, that was currently coiling around the offending leg and rearing upwards in a show of pure strength, size, and offensive defense.  
And by RA9 was it strong!  
He could feel the sheer power in its muscles as it coiled around his legs. Perhaps strong enough to crush the casing of his chassis if he wasn't careful with how he proceeded.  
Still, he couldn't help just stare at it.  
  “Well...Aren't you an impressive thing?” He was impressed but nervous of course, and with good reason to be.    
This python was not your typical garden snake. He'd say it was about 25 to 30 feet long, a quick scan confirming the latter, which was huge but not the largest recorded.   
It certainly outsized the 10 footer that had taken a chunk off of Mrs. Chadwick at her studio. “I'm sorry for tripping on you...I wasn't aware there was anything alive in here…”  
It was silly of him to speak as if it understood, but it helped calm hi.   
How had this snake survived here, when everything else had died? An open vent nearby, provided the answer to such a question:  
The python had likely been feeding off the other animals before sneaking into the damper and warmer storage area that had the heating lamps turned on. Looking back at the broken terrariums, this had likely served as a reptile room before the owner had abandoned the shop. The rest of the reptiles had also likely been the python’s first few meals when the owner didn’t return for feeding time.  
  “Clever...You're a clever one.” He smiled while the gargantuan snake continued staring him down. It seemed to lose interest as soon as it realized he wasn't exactly edible or a threat, and stopped hissing as it's coils loosening considerably. A sign that it was relaxing in his presence.   
  “Thanks, you're quite heavy…” he really was being silly, talking to a snake, but he didn’t care.    
It was just so stunning, this marvelous creature!  
The python uncoiled fully and flicked it's tongue, red eyes losing their angry edge as it began trying to understand what he was, if not food or foe.  
Simon sat there as the large reptile, one capable of reaching staggering sizes and even consuming large prey if it so desired, circled him inquisitively. It nudged him with its snout, trying to understand why this man shaped thing that did not smell like a human but certainly looked like one, had encroached on its territory.  
It flicked its tongue constantly, clearly at a loss for what to do with him.  
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of being explored by a rather imposing creature, the massive python discovered a warm spot near his stomach (where his thirium filter was currently overworked due to his last few cigarettes), and seemed to be content with settling on his lap to soak up the warmth. He'd been deemed safe and a comfy resting spot.  
  “...Uh...This day can't get any weirder…” the PL600 sighed, but did nothing to hide the fond smile on his face. He carefully ran a hand over the python's hide and marveled at the softness of the scales, how squishy yet powerful it felt.  
It couldn't hurt to take it with him...Right?  
It certainly would be inhumane to just abandon it here to it’s fate…  
  “Well, I can't just abandon a cutie like you, now can I? That would defeat the purpose of what I'm doing.” he smiled brightly as the snake lazily looked up at him and flicked it's tongue. He'd take that as a yes. “I hope Carl won't mind me bringing a pet into his home...You won't eat his canaries I hope, I doubt it'd feel nice to pass plastimetal through your digestive tract.”  
He still hadn't found what he needed, but he found a live animal! That was a win in his book.  
Still, he needed to get up and resume his search for supplies.   
It was best not to leave everyone waiting.

  
  


* * *

 

     He'd been correct in assuming the dolly would be by the back door. There hadn't been any containers, however, so he'd improvised with a few of the terrariums and cages that had been laying about.  
He'd filled them up with scavenged food bags, set them on the dolly, made a mental note of what remained in storage, and then gone outside to collect the dogs.  
His serpentine companion had immediately hissed and tried to get under his coat as soon as it felt the frigid air on it's scaly hide.  
  “Easy... We'll be out of the cold in no time. Oh! A-ah! That tickles!” He snorted and helped the snake settle somewhat inside of his jacket, it's tail wrapped tightly around one arm while the rest coiled around his midsection, and then the head poked out from his collar.    
The python was too long to be fully hidden away, but otherwise it'd be fine out in the cold for a good thirty minutes or so if it kept itself nice and cozily against his middle. He ran pretty warm these days, and would make for a temporary heater until the temperatures started affecting him.  
He met with the two large dogs that were waiting for him by the entrance, both immediately curious and eager to sniff the new addition to their bizarre team that was hitching a ride in Simon's clothing, before the four set off in search of bottled water to take to the temporary shelter. Water was much easier to acquire, as a nearby convenience store was stocked full of bottles and jugs of all shapes and sizes.   
Simon put two large 7 litter jugs on the dolly and carried four bottles under his pinned arm, while Roky and Sumo both busied themselves with taking a few doggy toys from the pet isle.    
Another bag of food and one bag of kitty litter were added to the makeshift kart for good measure, before Simon took note of the supplies in the store.   
With that done, out into the streets they went. Back on track towards Ralph’s old hiding spot.  
Walking while carrying a heavy animal plus two leashes bound to two massive dogs and a bunch of supplies, was a bit of a chore, but they were well on their way to the squat when they were suddenly met by a rather strange sound up ahead on their path…  
The PL600 raised an eyebrow, while the dogs perked their ears.   
They stood there only briefly before continuing a little further into the corner of the street they needed to turn to, to reach the right building. As soon as they rounded the corner, they were instantly met with quite the sight.  
Simon started with wide eyes, as the most absurd scene played out in front of him.    
Because, obviously,  it wasn't every day that you saw a young child trying to choke out a much larger and older man like lieutenant Anderson...  
So unusual it was, that even the dogs had paused momentarily, squeaky toys going silent in their jaws, as they watched the commotion further down the street.  
There was Hank of course, the aforementioned child, Connor who was on the ground grasping his nose with a perplexed and disgruntled look on his face, and then there was also Lucina who looked like she was having as much trouble processing what she was seeing as Simon was...  
  “What in God's name…?” Simon blinked as he tried to understand what had gone down in his absence.  
Apparently while he'd been busy finding food and water, Hank had picked a fight with a child who was somehow winning against a six foot and very broad shouldered individual.  
Connor had likely gotten a kick to the face when he'd attempted to intervene, and watching both men fail miserably to contain the shrieking child had apparently stunned Lucina into just sitting there and staring.  
Sumo and Roky looked up at him, both appearing just as surprised as he was, while his hitchhiker seemed to stare out lazily at the shitshow.    
Simon hadn't even known a snake could look so unimpressed.  
Time to step in then…  
  “Hey!” He called out as he let go of the dolly's handle and set the bottles on the ground, before carefully shuffling in to aid the old lieutenant, making sure not to jostle his living cargo that had decided to hide it’s head inside his shirt. “What are you doing?! Stop that!”  
His actions seemed to spur the dogs into reacting, Roky letting go of the dog toy to begin barking loudly at all of the excitement going on, while Sumo let out a low whine of distress as he watched with uncertainty as his owner struggled. Unsure if this was a game or if his human was in real danger.  
The girl didn't seem too happy with the arrival of reinforcements.  
  “Don’t touch me you creepy hobos! I'll bite Beardo's ears off I swear!” The girl, a small youngling likely between the ages of 13 and 15, with short strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, shrieked as she latched onto Hank's hair to keep from falling off his back as he tried to throw her off. She had a bit of an accent, either southern english or scottish.  
  “She's not fucking kidding! The kid's got a hell of a bite!” Hank cried out as he tried to pry the girl's hands from his hair “GOD! I feel like I'm getting scalped by a 10 year old!”  
  “I'm 15 you smelly old copper!” He'd been correct on the age then, Simon grimaced as he tried to figure out how best to calm the situation.  
Roky's continuous barking was grating on his nerves, and Sumo had joined him no less...  
The snake coiled under his coat was also beginning to tense up. If he didn't sort this, the python would likely spring out for a bite.    
A ten footer's bite was already nasty enough, as he'd seen firsthand at the studio. One from the serrated mouth of a thirty foot snake, would likely be much worse.    
He couldn't risk either the lieutenant or the girl getting attacked.  
  “Can anyone explain what is going on?” Simon asked, making a point to look at both Lucina and Connor. While the brunet didn't answer, too busy clutching his nose, the bespectacled android blinked a few times before shrugging at him.  
  “No clue, I found them both out here throwing hands with the kid…” she then pointed at Connor “And then the kid decked him so hard, his nose started bleeding.”  
  “I dhing ids brogen.” Connor grumbled as he held his aching nose.  
  “Your nose isn't fucking broken you drama queen! But my ears are definitely gonna get ripped off if you don't get this gremlin off of me!” Hank screamed as he continued struggling against the girl who...Looked to be mildly distressed.  
Sumo and Roky were both still barking very loudly, and yelling over the noise seemed to be stressing the child. He didn't blame her, it was stressing him just as much.  
  “Let's all just calm down and talk this through! No one needs to lose any ears!” Simon tried, glaring in ild annoyance when the child spat in his direction. He was tempted to point out her aim was off by 20 inches, but refrained from being petty so that he could continue to defuse the situation. “Lucina can you...Can you get the dogs to quiet down? Please?”  
  “They're nervous, but yeah I can try.” the female android knelt beside both barking hounds, trying to shush them as best she could. She looked to Connor for some help, the ex-deviant hunter kneeling beside her while still clutching his bleeding nose.  
With the dogs out of the way, Simon only had to be mindful of the adult cop, the young girl, and the python he could feel moving under his jacket.  
  “Alright...Just, what happened?” He braced the massive snake as carefully as he could so as to not startle it, while Hank continued to grab at the girl's hands so that she did not rip out his hair or beard.  
  “I don't know! The kid attacked me out of nowhere!” Hank replied.  
  “Liar! You were gonna come take me back to that rotten place! I saw your badge! I won't go back!” The child shrieked angrily, clinging on as tightly as she could. “I won't let you!”  
  “What the heck are you talking about kid?!” Hank grunted as he continued trying to shake her off, finally succeeding in his attempts, but not before losing a good chunk of hair. “CHRIST!”  
The girl hit the ground hard, but sprang back up twice as fast and glared defiantly up at both the lieutenant and Simon.  
  “That's right! I'll mess you up!” She threw the tuft of hair at the owner's feet, before balling her hands into tight fists. The right fist had bruised knucles, likely from punching Connor on the face “You're not taking me back!”  
  “...Take you where exactly?” The blond tried to not crack a smile at the display. He really shouldn't laugh, this was obviously not the time for it, but it did remind him similar displays he’d gotten from Jenny when she was particularly irate with her brother. Alfie might have been bigger and older than her, but he’d never had as much fighting spirit as she’d had, and she would find many ways to best him that often left him at a loss for how to react.   
Simon had loved those displays, admired Jenny’s better moods where nothing shook her confidence.  
  “The orphanage, you dingus!” The girl bellowed in outrage, clearly offended with him.  
  “....Orphanage? Why the fu-frick would I take you to an orphanage kid? If you haven't noticed, the whole city's deserted!” Hank rubbed at the sore spot, one eyebrow raised while he frowned in both discomfort and annoyance at being humiliated by a kid.  
  “I know it's deserted. But you must have come for me if you're here, otherwise there wouldn't be a human cop left in Detroit!” The girl retorted accusingly, frowning in confusion when Hank barked out a laugh.  
  “Well, I don't know what's got you so sure the cops are after you, but I live here and don't much feel like evacuating just because Skynet finally decided to show up…”  
The three stood there, staring each other down, before the child furrowed her brows in thought.  
  “....You're not taking me back?”  
  “Again, I have no idea why I'd be taking you to an abandoned orphanage in the middle of a revolution. So, no, whatever it is you're thinking, has nothing to do with what I'm doing out here.” Hank stated, calm and patient as if he hadn't just been wrestling the child off his back.  
  “Then...What are you doing here?” That was definitly a scottish accent, now that Simon could hear past the thick anger in her previous tone.  
Connor looked over from where he was helping Lucina, and offered an answer.  
  “We have been patrolling the city to ensure all androids in need receive proper aid.” The RK800 explained as he ran his fingers through Sumo's thick shaggy fur “Tensions are high between humans and androids, more so than ever, and we also make sure no straggling humans wander into the city.”  
  “Wow...Well then you already failed.” the kid stated flatly, looking just as unimpressed as the python had.  
  “Pardon?” Connor raised an eyebrow.  
  “We didn't so much wander in but like...There's at least a good dozen or so humans who actually remained in Detroit. So if you're worried about that, then yeah...Good frigging job.”  
Lucina blinked, astonished by the child's confirmation of the widespread rumors at the tower, while Connor looked ready to keel over at realizing she was right in that he failed to locate any remaining human populus within city limits. He’d been doing that for days now.  
Simon was, for the most part, concerned with what this might entail now that New Jericho was in an uproar. Androids would be looking to react to what had happened with Josh, and having humans so close to home might give some people the wrong sort of idea...  
  “So there's more than just me and you who stuck around?” Hank asked.  
  “It's a tiny community really. People who didn't have enough money to evacuate, or others who were underdogs who just didn’t care.” The girl shrugged. “In my case, I got kinda left behind...But I don't mind because I have Marie.”  
  “The AX400 right? Jerry mentioned they had spotted you with an android.” Simon asked out of curiosity. This had to be the same kid, right? Unless there were two human kids running around Detroit unsupervised.  
  “Jerry? You know Pirate Cove's Jerry?” the girl’s eyes widened, her interest peaked.  
  “Yeah he's actually with--”  
  “You found the little one!” A gleeful chorus exclaimed, interrupting Simon as the androids in question seemed to finally come outside to check out what was going on, and then poured out from the abandoned building they were supposed to clean up.  
The blond yelped as the six EM400s rushed out to meet with them, excitedly circling around the child so as to get a proper view of the little girl who'd been leaving them warm clothing.  
The unexpectedly loud chatter was overwhelming, with the PL600 wincing as the Jerrys began talking among themselves at a rather quick pace, while also asking the girl a myriad of questions without so much as a break.  
The other EM400, the slightly rounder one with glasses that Lucina had addressed as Joel, had come out to see what the ruckus was all about, and immediately backed out of the mess, LED a brilliant yellow under his beany.  
  “Joel come back and tell your cousins to stop being so loud!” Lucina called out after her friend.  
  “No way! My sanity won't hold against a tsunami of Jerry banter! I'd rather go help Rupert and Ralph get rid of the deer head in the fridge!”  
  “Joel!” Lucina protested angrily.  
The kid wasn't reacting well to the noise.   
Neither was the python for the matter...  
A long hiss followed by the tightening of it's coils around Simon's midsection and arm, alerted him to the amounting stress of his living cargo.  
  “Jerry!” He called out in warning over the noise “Jerry you're scaring her!”  
  “Jesus Christ, they're really loud...Hey!” Hank bellowed, making the EM400s startle and stop. “Quit it! You're being too forceful with the kid!”  
The six freckled androids frowned, turning to look at their focus of attention, only then noticing how the girl had curled in on herself and grabbed at her ears in distress.  
A look of understanding crossed their features, before they looked down at their feet in shame.  
  “We are sorry...It's just...We were so worried that a little one was running around out in the cold...And she's alone too! She wasn't before! We didn't mean to frighten her.”  
  “I a-aint scared!” The girl corrected “Just...You were just noisy. And uh, all around me. I uh...I don't like crowds!”  
  “Oh…” the Jerry missing his arm seemed relieved “We apologize nonetheless! As much as we are excited to meet you in person, we should have not approached you so boisterously. Not all the little ones are the same, or react nicely to our energy.”  
  “Some prefer quieter people.” Another of the Jerry's agreed.  
  “L-l-less n-noise is-is-is-is-isn’t bad!” The frostbitten Jerry smiled and nodded jerkily “W-we c-can be q-q-q-qui-quiet!”  
  “You uh...You don't have to be quiet. Just uh...Not so loud? And uh...Give people more room?” The girl fidgeted before realizing something. “Oh! Frick, stranger danger...I forgot to introduce myself!”  
  “....That's not how that works kid.” Hank chuckled “But in this case, I guess there's no harm done considering there’s two cops around. Or at least one cop since I got suspended...”  
  “Anyway uh, my name's Kelcie, but all my friends call me Kirby.”  
  “Well then Kirby, my name is Hank. The guy you punched is Connor, the girl is Lucina, you met Jerry apparently, and the blond guy is Simon.”  
  “And the dogs are Sumo and Roky.” Connor added.  
  “What about the noodle?”  
  “Noodle?”  
Simon felt the python loosen up and crawl up towards his collar before popping its head back out from its hiding spot. Hank yelped at the sight.  
  “Fucking Christ, is that a snake?!”  
  “Oh…Uh...I was going to tell you all I found at least one survivor...But I got a little sidetracked by this whole ordeal.” Simon smiled sheepishly and shifted his weight a little so that he could adjust his grip on his reptile companion. He felt nervous as everyone shifted their attention towards him.  
  “You've been carrying that huge thing under your shirt this whole time?” Hank grimaced, not liking the idea of carting around a large animal that could, reportedly, overpower a full grown adult man and easily swallow an entire child. It was a visceral primal instinct still ingrained in humans, to fear fully capable predators. Not that the albino snake currently flicking its tongue against his neck, looked particularly predatorial at the moment.  
  “He's not that heavy lieutenant Anderson, at least not to me. We PL600s were designed to be able to carry children with relative ease.” He shrugged “Enhanced upper body strength, not to the same extent as older models or AP700s, but we can still carry a lot. This beauty may be big and heavy, but really he's around the same weight of an 8 year old child.”  
  “He? You can tell it's a male?”  
  “It's not that difficult. My scans told me his species, age, size, weight and sex.” The blond explained, smiling when the snake yawned, fully displaying it’s tongue and teeth. The old cop looked mortified, but hid it behind a sarcastic tone.  
  “Pardon me if I don't have fancy eyes that can read others like an open book.” Hank rolled his eyes. “Did you find anything else?”   
Simon nodded and pointed towards the abandoned dolly he’d rigged into a makeshift cart.  
  “There’s more where it came from, plus some dog and cat toys as Sumo and Roky discovered.”  
As if to confirm this, Sumo began to play with the toy he’d claimed as his own.   
The squeaker was annoyingly loud as to be expected from any dollar store product. It wouldn’t last a week, or perhaps a day if the lieutenant got fed up with it.  
  “Good boy Sumo. We’ll get some for the others...Where do you plan to put the snake though?”  
  “I’m taking it.” Simon smiled.   
  “Pardon me...But uh, dogs? What’s this about dogs?” Kirby couldn’t help ask.  
  “Oh! Oh oh!” The Jerrys grinned “We’ll show you! Come along!”

 

* * *

 

 

     The rest of the day went blissfully without as much trouble as they’d initially been met with. If anything, with a little extra help, it went a lot more smoothly.    
It was well into the afternoon when Simon helped finish up getting a few more supplies for the relocated animals (This time accompanied by a reluctant Joel rather than Sumo and Roky), and he was ready to collapse into a well deserved charge in his bed when he finally parted ways with the others.  
Kirby, as they’d found out after a bit of question during a bit of puppy playtime (with Simon remaining a fair distance away from the canines), that she had somehow gotten separated from her caretaker, the AX400 she identified as her family’s android.   
Any questions related to her family were dismissed or blatantly ignored, but they’d gotten the relative gist of it: She was scottish, her parents had likely died, and she had somehow been ditched in an orphanage in Detroit.   
After evac, Marie had located her and the two had been surviving on their own, only being discovered because they’d gone to Pirate’s Cove.   
Apparently the girl had loved the park when it was in its prime, having gone there as a very young child with her parents, which was why she’d felt compelled to return and show the Jerrys a kindness they rarely received from visitors.   
They got very little on that hidden human community she’d mentioned, which when asked about she declared she had sworn to secrecy to protect them.    
Kirby was loyal for a 15 year old, that much Simon could tell.   
He hoped to find Marie soon, if just to ease the worry she likely felt at being away from her charge. AX400 were known to grow just as attached to children as PL600s did, although the resulting separation anxiety was often less disastrous than their male counterparts’s.   
For the time being, the girl would stay with Hank. Simon hoped that wouldn’t be too much trouble for the old cop, but then he recalled the photo on his kitchen table, and his latter attempts to censor his vocabulary.   
That man had been a father, he could survive. Simon hoped.   
If anything, it was a win for him just to see the discomfort on Connor’s face.    
Served him right for leaving him alone with two dogs.  
  “I’ll need to set up some sort of temporary containment for you, won’t it?” He mused as he tiredly walked up Lafayette street, with the albino python casually flicking its tongue as it tried to figure out where they were headed. “I wouldn’t mind just letting you wander around the room, but sadly I have a roommate who I don’t know if he likes anything remotely less fuzzy as you.”  
The snake didn’t look perturbed over the matter. He greatly enjoyed it’s patience.  
  “Not that having scales makes you any less cute. You’re quite stunning.” he added the compliment for good measure, pausing at the gate and feeling contentment as it unlocked and greeted him by name, something Carl had changed for them that very same morning.   
Carl...He hoped he hadn’t been watching the news. The scare likely wasn’t good for his heart.  
As soon as he stepped foot inside, he was nearly tackled by Daniel.  
  “There you are! Simon you fucking scared me you asshole!”  
  “S-shit! Daniel, careful!” the older deviant yelped, pushing his brother away so he could point towards the now tense snake. “I’m carrying a baby!”  
The other PL600 startled at first, scanning him search for an actual human baby, before his eyes landed on the reticulated python.   
His expressions changed rapidly from shock, to curiosity, to astonishment and then glee.  
  “Holy...That’s...That’s a big noodle.”  
What was it with people and calling snakes noodles? He could see why they would make the comparison, but why was it so common and recurring?  
  “Big, danger noodle...Simon where did you find him? He’s beautiful!” Daniel marveled, watching the python with great interest as it seemed to follow him.    
While less warm that Simon, Daniel likely still felt comfortably inviting to the large snake, especially after the two had been out in the cold for so long.   
  “Pet shop...He was the only living thing in there ...Don't ask. It’s a long story, but uh, yeah. He is beautiful, isn't he?” Simon opened up his jacket so that he could reach in and pet his living cargo. The coils were so soft still!  
  “Yeah...But shit you gotta move now. North’s on call with Markus.” Daniel pulled him along, now mindful of the python.   
  “She’s on...With Markus? For how long?” Simon moved quickly to match his brother’s pace.   
  “Just started, shit’s a mess! He’s a mess!” Daniel replied, pulling him to the living room where he could clearly hear North’s and Carl’s voices. “Come on!”  
It seemed that resting would come later then as, right now, Simon had more pressing things to deal with. He just hoped he wasn’t about to get confirmation that Josh had died in the attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here!  
> I'm so sorry this took so long, but I was having trouble phrasing most of it.  
> Had to rely on burts of inspiration to finally get this done!
> 
> But hey, here it is!  
> We meet the foul tempered Kirby, and in enters a noodle friend for our dear anxious Simon to care for!  
> On the next chapter, we finally get an update on Josh's condition.


End file.
